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CAPT. E. KIRBY SMITH 

1 807-1 847 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

LETTERS OF CAPTAIN E. KIRBY SMITH 
TO HIS WIFE 



PREPARED FOR THE PRESS 
BY HIS DAUGHTER 

EMMA JEROME BLACKWOOD 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

R. M. JOHNSTON, A.M. 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MODERN HISTORY 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 




CAMBRIDGE 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS 

LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD 

Oxford University Press 

I917 



COPYRIGHT, 1917 
HARVARD tJNIVERSITY PRESS 



V 
JUL 2S I9i7 

©CU470748 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 



INTRODUCTION! 

A BRAVE soldier, ready to lay down his life for 
his country, should require but little introduc- 
tion. A man of that stamp is known at sight, is 
promptly recognized by those among us whose hearts 
still warm at the record of suffering endured patiently, 
of duty and discipline enforced at all hazards, of death 
foreseen and encountered without flinching. He re- 
quires no panegyric, no praise; merely a statement of 
what he did, and where and when. These letters of 
Ephraim Kirby Smith to his wife tell plainly what 
sort of man wrote them. The addition of only a few 
details, of a fact or two to make the setting clearer, 
is all the reader will require by way of introduction. 

He was born on the 17th of June, 1807, at Litchfield, 
Connecticut, the home of his father and grandfather 
before him. They were all soldiers, all in the Regular 
service, all in due course promoted to the rank of 
Captain. The maternal grandfather, Ephraim Kirby, 
fought at Bunker Hill, and thereafter through the War 
of Independence to its close. The father, Joseph Lee 
Smith, fought in the War of 181 2, and won special 

^ The text of Captain Kirby Smith's letters has been prepared for 
publication by members of his family. Omissions have been made; 
and these are indicated typographically. 



4 INTRODUCTION 

distinction at the battle of Lundy's lane; he eventually 
rose to the rank of Colonel. His son was destined to 
pay the battle toll for all three, losing his life in the 
glorious fight at Molino del Rey under Scott.^ 

Kirby Smith's career in the army was wholly un- 
eventful until the outbreak of the Mexican War. And 
it is on the 28th of August, 1845, " 14 miles from 
Cincinnati," proceeding with his company of the 
Fifth Infantry to the border, that his letters to his 
wife take on added interest from the war conditions. 
Observant, humane, touched by strange scenery and 
customs, with some gift of description and an all- 
pervading honesty, he visibly strove to give her a 
faithful rendering of all he saw and felt during the 
momeritous experiences that now opened before him. 
The strange scenery and gorgeous vegetation of 
Mexico, he tried to convey to her; and ranged in his 
topics from noting the dehcate tint of a meadow 
flower to criticizing the far from delicate methods of 
the American Government in handling an interna- 
tional question. 

On the march from Jalapa to Puebla, he notes: 
" The sun unobscured by a cloud rose above the hori- 
zon, apparently far below us, his first rays Ughting the 
peak of Orizaba and showing us far in the distance 
the shining spires and domes of the beautiful city of 

* His brother Edmund, who also fought through the Mexican 
campaign, was the well-known Confederate general. 



INTRODUCTION $ 

Jalapa. The clouds in many colored, gorgeous piles 
were resting on the summit of the mountains, while 
the soft mists were lying in the laps of the hills below, 
the cultivated valleys showing all their beauties be- 
tween, while here and there a bold precipice or ragged 
peak gave sublimity to the scene which was beautiful 
exceedingly. ... I know not whether I am more 
susceptible to the effects of fine scenery than others, 
but this, which was by far the most glorious picture of 
nature I have ever beheld, completely overcame me, 
and I dropped on the earth to breathe a prayer and 
a thanksgiving to a good God who had made such a 
glorious world." 

It was not often that Captain ELirby Smith could 
find in Mexico conditions of such unalloyed beauty as 
to provoke this profound religious emotion. Indeed, 
this is the only passage in these letters, in which the 
deepest, most sacred chord of his being is revealed 
vibrating. At such a moment as that when he saw the 
sun from behind Jalapa striking Orizaba with its rays, 
the tierra templada might seem an earthly paradise; 
but other moments, far more numerous, quickly 
followed, in which the perfection of nature was 
sharply offset by the imperfection of man. Mexicans 
black-blooded or Spanish, Indians pure or half-breed, 
even — with shame be it said — American volunteer 
troops, might all of them, in their times and places, 
make Eden itself hideous. 



6 INTRODUCTION 

The primitive ways of the native Mexicans, not 
greatly changed even at this day, sometimes resulted 
in merely amusing scenes; as, for instance, when the 
Fifth Infantry camped along the Rio Grande opposite 
the town of Matamoros: " In the afternoon the habits 
of these people were curiously displayed. Young 
women came down to the river side, disrobed without 
any hesitation, and plunged into the stream, regard- 
less of the numerous spectators on either bank. Some 
of our young officers were in the water opposite them 
and soon swam towards them. The Mexican guards 
were not, however, disposed to let them come much 
nearer than the middle of the river, so they returned 
after kissing their hands to the tawny damsels, — 
which was laughingly returned." Nausicaa and her 
maidens, all but the color of their skins ! 

A note less gay is struck when, one night at Puebla, 
he " was attracted by the sound of music accompanied 
by a strange kind of wailing which issued from the 
open door of rather an inferior house. I rode up to it 
and was much struck by the strange scene. The 
room was in a blaze of light from many candles. In 
its centre was a bier on which was extended the corpse 
of a girl apparently about seventeen, dressed in all the 
finery the family possessed, with flowers in her bosom, 
hair, and hands, and surrounded by gilded ornaments, 
probably borrowed from the churches. In one corner 
of the room was a group of old women, perfect hags, 



INTRODUCTION 7 

squatted round a furnace where a feast was cooking. 
They looked like so many witches round a cauldron. 
In the opposite corner was a display of Uquors and 
drinking cups, which the appearance of the inmates 
proved had not been suffered to stand idle. Imme- 
diately round the corpse were several couples dancing 
a fandango to the merry fiddle, while ever and anon 
the witches round the cauldron, with their shrill, 
cracked voices, howled a chant in the Indian-Tlasculan 
language." 

Frequently the volunteers are referred to in these 
pages, never with commendation, always with an 
undercurrent of contempt, too frequently with plain 
horror. With ofiicers not competent even to maintain 
discipline, let alone handUng their men in action, they 
made of the Stars and Stripes an emblem of pillage, 
destruction, and outrage. They were " dreaded hke 
death in every village in Mexico." They " fled in 
every action in which they have been engaged." At 
Monterey, volunteer regiments bolted. At Buena 
Vista, it was only the Mexican turning movement that 
swept many of them back to their stations. General 
Pillow begged for a single company of regulars at 
Cerro Gordo, to prevent a whole brigade of volunteers 
from stampeding. 

It was with some gratification, then, that Captain 
Kirby Smith found himself, at the opening of opera- 
tions, one of a little force exclusively regulars, under 



8 INTRODUCTION 

the command of General Taylor. He reached the 
camp, at Corpus Christi, on the 8th of September, 
1845, ^^^ records with evident satisfaction that the 
little army, about 3,000 men, was the largest regular 
force assembled by the United States since the War of 
Independence. 

Under Taylor, Kirby Smith fought at Palo Alto 
and Resaca de la Palma; but before Buena Vista he 
went home on leave owing to the death of his father. 
On rejoining, two months later, he proceeded south to 
take part in Scott's expedition to Vera Cruz and 
Mexico City. Of Palo Alto he gives an extended and 
good description; and his account of the scene at the 
close is, indeed, quite vivid. " The cannonade con- 
tinued until night closed in when the spectacle was 
magnificent. The prairie was burning brilliantly 
between the two armies and some twenty pieces of 
artillery thundering from right to left; while through 
the lurid scene was heard the tramping of horses and 
the wild cheering of the men." 

Transferred to Scott's command, he took part in all 
the operations from the landing at Vera Cruz to the 
battle of Churubusco under the walls of Mexico. 
Cerro Gordo was the only important action he missed. 
Steadily and well he did his duty, being transferred to 
a Light Infantry battalion under C. F. Smith. He 
fought well at Contreras; and at Churubusco, his 
coolness and courage did much to stiffen the American 



INTRODUCTION 9 

line at a very critical moment. But we must leave the 
reader to find out how, by referring to his own charac- 
teristically modest yet clear account of the matter. 
For this and other services, he knew that reward was 
due; and he wrongly beUeved that the coveted brevet 
was not coming to him for, as a fact, two promotions, 
to major and to lieutenant-colonel, were awarded him, 
though too late to reach him. It is not without a 
touch of envy that he alludes to the brilliant courage 
of Chaplain McCarty under fire and declares that 
surely he must be promoted Brevet Bishop! 

On the 8th of September, at MoHno del Rey, he 
was acting Lieutenant-Colonel of the Light Infantry 
battalion. And there, as he mounted the enemy's 
works, he was shot in the face. He never recovered 
consciousness, and died three days later. His last 
words, written to his wife a few hours before the 
battle, were: " I am thankful that you do not know 
the peril we are in. Goodnight!" 

One more word may be added, suggested by the 
events now passing in Mexico. From the day that 
Kirby Smith fell to the present, Mexico has not 
changed much nor yet the United States. The prob- 
lems of those days are much the same as the problems 
of these. The men have changed and the scale, but 
not the methods, on either side of the border. Kirby 
Smith's observations are pregnant with lessons for the 
American of today; and he saw things larger than the 



lo INTRODUCTION 

vices and virtues of the primitive people among whom 
he went to conquer and to die. He could catch 
glimpses, illuminating glimpses, of state policies. 
And as a straightforward soldier his heart sickened 
when, after every victory won in despite of heavy 
Mexican odds, in despite of the organized disorganiza- 
tion of his own country, after every victory won the 
government at Washington sheepishly strove to per- 
suade Santa Anna to give them peace, peace with or 
without honor, peace so long as it carried with it the 
coveted Border territory. Their agent Trist, with a 
bag of three milHons of dollars, weighed more at head- 
quarters than Winfield Scott himself. 

The unedifying background — cheap politics, un- 
worthy, undisciplined mortals on every side — serves 
to throw up in the sharpest of contrasts the upright 
and manly figure of an officer who worthily upheld 
the high traditions of the regular army of the United 

States. 

R. M. JOHNSTON. 



LETTERS OF 
CAPTAIN E. KIRBY SMITH 



LETTERS OF 
CAPTAIN E. KIRBY SMITH 

Fourteen Miles from Cincinnati, 
August 28, 1845.1 

I WRITE before reaching the city, as there I shall 
be entirely occupied in transporting our baggage 
to the river, a mile by land from the canal. Our 
journey has been exceedingly uncomfortable, the heat 
more oppressive than I ever knew it, and the mosqui- 
toes in swarms at night. Whipple presented himself 
this morning as completely speckled as a plum pud- 
ding, and his face swelled out of all shape from the 
bites, I escaped this torment by having a mosquito 
bar, which Dr. Wood kindly lent me from the hospital. 
We have been detained two days by a break in the 
bank of the canal. The General [Brooke], Marcy, and 
Deas left us yesterday and rode to the city where we 
shall join them this evening. There are no orders for 
us at Cincinnati, but the news from Texas is such, 
that there can be but little doubt that we must be 
ordered almost immediately to that field. A letter 
from Lieutenant Beaman at New Orleans states that 
General Paredes with seven thousand men is only one 

1 Traveling under orders with his company for the front by Ohio 
Canal. 



14 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

hundred and twenty miles from General Taylor, who, 
if this be so, is in a very critical situation. General 
Gaines has made a requisition on the Governor of 
Louisiana for one thousand men to reenforce General 
Taylor if practicable. It seems to me seven years in- 
stead of seven days since we parted, so tedious and 
lonely has been this canal route, though, for the last 
three days, passing through the finest country I have 
ever beheld. 

P. S. On board transport " Plymouth " eleven 
o'clock at night. 

I am almost tired out, have been on my feet in the 
hot sun on the rough pavements for eight hours, get- 
ting my command embarked, but cannot go to bed 
until I close my sheet to you. On our arrival at two 
o'clock today we found an order for the battalion to 
proceed immediately to Corpus Christi, under my 
command. We shall probably reach Texas in about 
twelve days. Our companies are strengthened by 
fifty recruits from the rendezvous here. I shall have 
a very pretty command for a captain, and if there is 
anything to be done, I think I shall have a chance. 

New Orleans, 
September 9, 1845. 

We left Cincinnati on the twenty-ninth ultimo, 
having been strengthened by fifty recruits from the 
depot at Newport. We were exceedingly fortunate 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 15 

in getting down the river (Ohio) without accident, 
the water being very low; reached Cairo Monday- 
afternoon the first, and were there employed until 
three o'clock Tuesday morning in unloading and re- 
loading a large down-river boat " Metamora " with 
our baggage. Finally, after a most dreadful night of 
heat, stench, and confusion, we were prepared to com- 
mence our voyage. We parted with General Brooke 
at this point. Poor old man ! he was sad enough. 
We gave him three hearty cheers as his boat parted 
from ours. He waved his cap in farewell, but seemed 
unable to speak, and turned immediately into his state- 
room. 

The Lower Mississippi retains very much the char- 
acter of the Upper; the water is, however, muddy, 
and the banks below Natchez leveed and thickly 
sprinkled with plantations. As you approach New 
Orleans they are continuous. We could see the tops 
of the sugar cane waving in the breeze for many miles. 
We arrived at the city about three o'clock on the 
seventh, an intensely hot day. 

Marcy,^ the acting Assistant Quarter-Master, was 
quite sick, threatened with fever, and could not go on 
shore, so I was compelled to do his duty besides my 
own. However, in two hours I had completed my 
business with the Department Quarter-Master General 
and came down to the barracks three miles below the 
1 Randolph B. Marcy, Fifth Infantry. 



1 6 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

town, and we were landed and in quarters by eight in 
the evening. This post is by far the most beautiful 
I have ever seen. The quarters are fine and airy, com- 
pletely protected from the sun by beautiful tropical 
shade trees, with extensive yards and gardens about 
them, and a large shaded parade ground clothed with 
a rich greensward. 

I have arranged my transportation, and we shall 
leave in the steamship "Alabama" for Corpus Christi, 
tomorrow morning. 

Corpus Christi is represented by every one as the 
most delightful spot on the globe, cool, healthy, no 
insects, not a mosquito, an abundance of oysters, 
fish, and venison, but unfortunately no wood to cook 
with. We shall, barring accident, or Mexican priva- 
teers, reach there by the fourteenth. General Taylor 
has now in his camp near three thousand regular 
troops, and a considerable body of volunteers. He 
will soon have five thousand regulars and will, it is 
thought, be amply strong for any force the Mexicans 
can send against him. We leave most of our baggage 
here, going into the field Ught and ready for active 
service. Mrs. Kelly (wife of a soldier) is cooking and 
washing for Rossell and myself, and we expect to 
get on with great economy. No sickness in New 
Orleans, not a case of yellow fever. My own health 
was never better. I have gained every hour since I 
started. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 17 

Corpus Christi, Texas (or Mexico), 

Army of Occupation, 

September 18, 1845. 

I wrote you at New Orleans that we should reach 
Aransas on the fourteenth — we were there on the 
morning of the thirteenth, having had a most delight- 
ful run of only sixty hours from the city. The first 
night we were on the Gulf I was informed that Mrs. 
Roth (a camp woman of my company) was sick. Poor 
thing ! I gave her my stateroom, and by morning 
she was dehvered of a son. This was the second birth 
on the route. The mothers are now both well, and 
doing their regular washing for the men. . . . The 
"Alabama," in which we crossed the Gulf, is a large 
steamship of too much draught to enter the Bay, and 
we were compelled to disembark on steam Kghters in 
the open roadstead, where there is always a heavy sea, 
a dangerous and disagreeable duty. Thompson lost 
his tents in its performance; the tierce containing 
them being washed overboard, a most serious loss, 
depriving his company of the only shelter his men and 
women have, compelling the rest to divide with him 
and crowding all. 

On the next day we were all prepared on two small 
steamboats and got under way for this point about 
thirty miles from St. Joseph's Island. On the route we 
passed the wreck of the " Dayton," a boat which was 
blown up on the thirteenth. The explosion instantly 



1 8 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

killed two officers, Lieutenants Higgins and Berry, of 
the Fourth Infantry, a sergeant, and five men. Some 
others have since died of their wounds. Captain 
Crossman and Lieutenant Gordon were thrown some 
fifty or sixty yards from the boat, but, incredible as it 
may appear, were not seriously injured. The melan- 
choly of this terrible accident was much heightened 
by the fact that Lieutenant Higgins had been mar- 
ried, but a few days before being ordered here, to 
the daughter of Captain Morrison of the Third 
Infantry. 

At night, the fourteenth, during a violent thunder 
storm, we cast anchor opposite to the camp fires of the 
Army of Occupation. They extended along the beach, 
apparently for more than a mile, on the south of the 
Nueces River, consequently in the disputed territory. 
Amid the gloom and rain I stumbled along the shore, 
seeking for headquarters to make my report, greeted 
frequently, as I passed the camp, by cordial welcomes 
from the well-known voices of old companions, whom 
I had not met for years. In the morning we landed 
and commenced our encampment, a most arduous 
undertaking, having to cut off a dense thicket which 
covered the whole ground infested with rattle snakes 
and insects. By night we were all in our canvas 
houses, though there were frequent snake alarms dur- 
ing the whole night. The climate here is perfectly 
delicious and healthy; no possibility of sickness, and 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 19 

so cool from the trade wind, which blows steadily, that 
our cloth clothing is very comfortable. All prospect 
of meeting with the Mexican forces has vanished, and 
the supposition now is that we shall remain in this 
neighborhood, perhaps march to the Rio Grande, 
until all difficulty is settled by negotiation between 
the two governments. 

There is at the southern extremity of the camp, 
about three-fourths of a mile from our position, a 
settlement called a ranch. It is, in fact, a Mexican 
trading place. There are some dozen houses, most of 
them stores. Here the Mexicans from Matamoras 
and other places come constantly. They more re- 
semble negroes than whites. I have as yet hardly had 
time to observe anything. I haven't even been on the 
hill back of us, but understand that the country is one 
vast prairie covered with droves of mustangs. We 
have fine fish in abundance, but in every other par- 
ticular depend upon the commissary, " pork and 
beans being the chief of our diet." 

I wish you could take a look at us. On the right are 
the Second Dragoons, on the left a corps of artillery 
volunteers from New Orleans. The camp covers the 
ground for more than a mile, as near in a line as the 
shore will permit, and when the residue of the troops 
ordered here have arrived will be the largest body of 
regulars, it is said, which has been assembled since 
the Revolution. . . . 



20 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Corpus Christi, 
November 2, 1845. 

We hear nothing here about our movements, but 
are lying under our canvas on the shelly beach of this 
calm sea in a perfect state of monotony. We all go 
to bed at tattoo; there is no frolicking and no card 
playing that I know of in the camp. I have almost 
forgotten how to smoke, and certainly shall if we hve 
in this way long. The great change of climate and the 
bad brackish water we are compelled to drink has 
made most of our regiment (the Fifth) sick. None of 
the cases are, however, very severe and all are now 
recovering. 1 We have had some severe northers since 
I wrote last, accompanied by rain. They are terrible 
visitations to an encampment, sweeping everything 
before them by their violence and with their icy 
breath freezing our very vitals. I slept in a wet bed 
two nights, and only kept alive by having a large 
camp kettle of coals by my side. As soon as the wind 
changes to the south, from which quarter it blows 
almost constantly, the weather becomes as warm as 
with you in midsummer. . . . General Taylor is 
sending out exploring parties in various directions. 
The last which started for the Rio Grande a few days 
since was compelled to return, by the rains and floods 
which rendered the streams impassable. An expedi- 
tion has gone by water to examine the harbor of 

* November 20. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 21 

Brasos Santiago and the mouth of the Rio Grande. 
All these explorations are to acquire knowledge upon 
which to locate the permanent posts. There is a report 
here this morning of a rupture with the Comanches. 
It is said that some of them have been killed as well 
as two citizens near Bexar, and that the Dragoons are 
in some way mixed up with the affair. These Indians 
are a much more formidable enemy than the Mexicans, 
and if this report be true we may have a stiff fight out 
of them. . . . 

December 28. I told you in my last that I was 
going up the Nueces River. Major Sibley, a citizen, 
and myself, with a crew of soldiers, left camp before 
light on Wednesday, December 12. We crossed in 
our boat over Corpus Christi Bay to the mouth of the 
river about eight miles; ascended it eighteen miles 
and encamped. The river Nueces very much resem- 
bles the Fox above Lake Winnebago, though there's 
an occasional strip of stunted timber on the bank, 
shutting out from view the boundless prairie beyond. 
The prairies here are never broken by anything re- 
sembling the beautiful " oak openings " of the North, 
but in all directions may be seen in the dim distance 
clumps of trees and bushes seldom covering over a 
quarter acre, which are called in the vernacular 
" mots." The deer on these prairies are innumerable, 
large herds of them to be seen in every direction, and 
many persons have said they had seen more than ten 



2 2 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

thousand in one day. From my own observation I 
think they did not exaggerate, for in one day while I 
was up the river, by no means in the best game coun- 
try, I saw more deer than I supposed existed in all 
America. We were joined at our encampment by 
Merrill, who came riding up to us with a deer hanging 
on each side of his horse. He had crossed the country 
to where we were about eighteen miles from Corpus 
Christi, killing the deer on the way. Merrill, the citi- 
zen, and I hunted the next day while the Major 
ascended the river in the boat. The proceeds of our 
hunt were two more deer and twelve turkeys. Next 
day the weather being threatening we returned to 
camp just in time to escape a regular tempest. I was 
much disappointed in the character of the country as 
far as my observation extended. In this region the 
soil is sandy, unproductive, and unfit for agriculture 
but admirably suited for grazing. The short sweet 
muskeet grass is good the whole year, making as fine 
beef as does grain, the cattle always keeping fat upon 
it. The water in the streams is soft and wholesome. 
It was a real treat to us, a regular cold water spree 
after the brackish, filthy water we had been drinking 
on the coast. 

Department Tamanlipas, Texas, 
FiLisoLAS Wells, 

March 17, 1846. 

We, the Second Brigade, left Corpus Christi at 
eight in the morning on the tenth. We parted with 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 23 

our old camping ground without regret, and cheerfully 
commenced our march over the hill. Our course was 
a little north of west, over a prairie sprinkled with 
" mots " (Mexican vernacular) of stunted timber, 
muskeet, a species of locust, and extensive fields of 
chaparral, dense thorny thickets, perfectly impene- 
trable. After marching about eight miles the Nueces 
was seen on our right, winding through the prairie 
like a blue ribbon carelessly thrown on a green robe. 
The prairie was covered with flowers such as bloom at 
the North during the summer. I observed in great 
abundance the spiderwort, phlox, lupin, fireplant 
lobelia inflata, primrose, etc., indeed, most of the 
common flowers of the Northern prairies. The day 
was hot though cloudy with a pleasant breeze. Our 
weather would be like the July of your region, were 
we not relieved of its sultriness by the tail of the south- 
east trade, which blows upon us steadily at this season. 
We made twelve miles and encamped on the right 
bank of the Nueces about four o'clock. Among the 
flowers I ought to mention the Spanish bayonet now 
in full bloom. The plant towers to a gigantic size, the 
shaft or body like the palmetto running up some ten 
or fifteen feet, from six to ten inches in diameter, 
crowded with a cluster of glossy green bayonets radi- 
ating in every direction from the centre of which, and 
towering several feet above all, is a glorious pyramid 
of white flowers hanging in clusters or lateral branches 



24 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

from the main stem. These are visible for many miles 
on the open prairie, and appear precisely like ships in 
the distance, or when near a mot like a tall lighthouse 
on some wooded headland. I was on guard last eve- 
ning and sat up nearly all night. About daylight it 
began to rain. We broke up our camp at sunrise and 
were en route by seven. After marching two hours 
west our course turned to the southwest, to avoid 
marshes about the head waters of streams emptying 
into the Gulf. We marched for miles over a muddy 
prairie almost impassable for our baggage train. I 
had command of the advance guard and saw much 
game, deer innumerable, geese, ducks, curlew, cranes, 
wild turkeys, etc. Made fourteen miles and encamped 
at Agua Dulce (sweet water). It was a very fatiguing 
day to the command, and the baggage train was not 
all up until night, though we were in camp at five 
o'clock. Here an express was received from General 
Worth, who had left Corpus Christi one day in ad- 
vance of us, stating that he was but four miles away, 
and that we would have much difficulty in crossing the 
marshes next day. Our camp was dehghtfully situated 
on a gentle slope towards the water, the evening 
was pleasant, the moon at full. I took a refreshing 
bath and felt as good as new. Our camp was, however, 
full of " varmints." From one hole a rabbit, a rat, 
a rattle snake, and a tarantula were dislodged, these 
animals, incredible as it may appear, living in com- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 25 

mon in the same den. I killed with my sword, im- 
mediately in rear of my tent, a huge rattler nearly 
six feet in length. We proceeded on our weary march 
at seven in the morning. It rained until eleven o'clock, 
after which the weather was fine and cool. After 
passing the camp of the First Brigade, the road was 
good, and all proceeded smoothly. After marching 
eleven miles, we encamped seven miles from the depot 
on the San Gertrude. 

The country we passed over was diversified with 
rich prairies, scattered wood, and chaparral and we 
saw a fine herd of antelopes and several droves of 
wild horses. On the eighteenth broke up our camp 
and marched at half-past six. The weather was ex- 
ceedingly warm, and many of the officers and men 
suffered much from blistered feet. Passed the San 
Gertrude and depot at eleven o'clock and encamped 
two miles beyond on a beautiful ground with good 
wood and water. General Taylor and staff overtook 
us at this place, but soon pushed on after the Dragoons 
^who were some twenty miles in advance. We re- 
newed the supplies of provisions and marched on the 
morning of the fourteenth at seven. The day was 
oppressively hot, and I found I was doomed to suffer 
as I discovered I was badly poisoned. You know well 
with what severity it attacks me and how painful it is. 
Now imagine me marching in the midst of the dust of 
the army, toiling on for miles without water, under a 



26 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

fierce tropical sun, and you may have some idea what 
I encountered this day. But all things have an end 
and we pitched our tents at last near an extensive 
growth of stunted timber, live oaks, acacia in full 
bloom, and muskeet. 

The place is called by the Mexicans San Fernando. 
I took a bath and sat down to encounter my torments 
in sulky silence. This afternoon Mason caught a 
young antelope. How beautiful he was ! His large, 
mild eye was fixed upon us with the most beseeching 
expression. I pleaded for him and Mason had him 
restored to liberty near where he was taken. The 
weary afternoon wore away and I went to my blanket, 
but not to sleep. It seemed to me an eternity to 
reveille, but it and " the general " finally beat and 
we resumed our route which lay over a barren, sandy 
region. The day was hot, the poison much worse, my 
forehead, chin, wrists, and breasts being ulcerated 
and much swollen. We reached our camping ground 
about two, but marched and counter-marched in the 
burning sun for more than an hour before the Colonel 
had sufficiently collected his ideas to suffer us to pitch 
our tents. Several peccaries were killed near the 
camp and large droves of them seen. They are a fierce 
animal and bear about the same resemblance to a hog 
that the buffalo does to a common ox. I spent another 
night of suffering without one wink of sleep, and nearer 
dead than alive, with a feeling of perfect desperation 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 27 

I prepared to head my company. We began our march 
at half-past five, and as we moved off Major Stani- 
ford's servant was sent to me with one of the Major's 
horses. I shall never cease to be grateful to him, as 
I was truly unfit to march. Our route today was over 
a sandy desert and was very hard upon the men. The 
ox-teams were not able to keep up. We made a little 
over fifteen miles, and encamped at a place called 
Filisola's Wells. Filisola was one of Santa Anna's 
generals, and commanded the rear division at the 
battle of San Jacinto. He retreated after that battle 
and 'tis said rested his army some days at this place. 

An express came to us here from General Taylor 
announcing " The enemy is on our front, threatening 
to attack us if we advance." The rear brigades were 
ordered to push on with as much dispatch as possible 
and join the advance of the army. We were all much 
excited and forgot our fatigues and sufferings and 
discussed our prospects around our camp fires. The 
enemy were reported to be four thousand, we were but 
three thousand, yet should we meet them we felt the 
utmost confidence that we should beat them. I got 
some sleep this night and rose much refreshed at two 
in the morning when our reveille sounded. We were 
off at four o'clock, I being still mounted on the Major's 
horse. 

We made this day a long march over a perfect desert, 
the scanty herbage having been burnt by the enemy. 



28 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

The only water we saw was salt and the sun streamed 
upon us like living fire. We were all day enveloped in 
clouds of black sooty dust and ashes, which adhered 
to our beards and skins moist with perspiration mak- 
ing us look like so many dirty negroes, and when late 
in the afternoon we halted at a muddy pool of brackish 
water, our very wives would not have known us ! 
We made today between seventeen and eighteen miles 
all much fatigued, but after washing and getting a cup 
of tea our cheerfulness was restored. The sixteenth 
we started at seven in the morning, the rear of our 
baggage train with the rear guard still many miles 
behind. The soil and country today rapidly im- 
proved and we encamped early on a rich prairie, 
surrounded by pleasant woods. Directly in front of 
our camp was a pond of clear sweet water. Oh ! how 
we did drink and bathe ! I never knew before how 
good water could be after being without it thirty-six 
hours. We saw many wild bulls, and a magnificent 
mustang attracted by our horses ventured up to the 
very chain of sentinels. He was glossy black with fine 
muscular proportions, and looked worthy to bear a 
hero through a battle charge, as he stood with ex- 
panded nostrils and dilating eye gazing upon the 
strange sight before him. An effort was made to take 
him with the laSso, but he distanced our fleetest horses 
and returned again and again to gaze upon the strange 
array which had invaded his native wilds. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 29 

I mounted guard with two subalterns and eighty 
men. The guard tents being still in the rear we 
bivouacked in front of the camp. On the nineteenth 
we made eleven miles through a fine country, no want 
of water and plenty of game. We heard the drums of 
the First Brigade at tattoo and had a most interest- 
ing dispatch from General Taylor stating that the 
enemy were in force at the crossing of the Arroyo 
Colorado seven miles ahead, and that he should force 
the ford as soon as we came up. All our teams reached 
us in the night and we started at seven in the morning. 

At eight we came up with the baggage train of the 
First Brigade which was parked and guarded to await 
the termination of the expected battle. At a quarter 
past nine we deployed on the right of the First Brigade 
in order of battle, immediately on the bank of the 
Arroyo Colorado. For the last two miles before we 
reached the river we met staff officers, men and camp 
followers riding to the rear, all with eager, anxious 
faces, all telling the same tale, that the Mexicans 
were in force on the opposite bank. As we deployed 
we saw a few Mexican ranchereros (militia) and lanc- 
ers in the edge of the bushes on the other side. We 
heard, too, from the staff officers that the Mexican 
Adjutant- General and a Colonel Kintaro had been 
with General Taylor and had pledged their honor as 
soldiers that they would fire upon the first man of 
our army who should attempt to cross the ford, that 



30 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

such were the orders from General Mejia and that 
they were supported by a strong force. They were 
fully believed as bugles were sounding the advance in 
various directions on their side, and troops and horse- 
men were showing themselves at many points on the 
bank as if parts of a strong body deployed in order of 
battle. General Taylor had replied to the Mexican 
officers that in fifteen minutes he should force the 
passage and that his batteries would open on any one 
who should oppose themselves to it. Then, immedi- 
ately ordering his horse, the Mexican officers retired. 
This was perhaps one of the most exciting hours of 
my life. All, from the General-in-Chief to the smallest 
drummer boy, felt morally certain that we were on the 
verge of a fierce and bloody conflict, yet I saw no one 
who was not cheerful and apparently eager for the 
game to begin. 

The river at the ford is about eighty yards in width, 
and four feet in depth. The banks, I judged, about 
fifteen feet in height, the crest on the Mexican side 
covered with wood and a thick undergrowth, on ours, 
an open field with a wood in our rear. The movement 
was begun at half-past ten, by four companies of the 
Second Brigade under the command of Captain C. F. 
Smith, who by the right flank and in perfect order 
marched into the water. As they struck the margin, 
General Worth rushed to the head of the column to 
lead the charge. We watched them in breathless 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 31 

silence as they deepened in the water expecting that 
at every step they would receive a withering fire. 
When they were half way over and not a shot fired 
the disappointment of the men was shown from right 
to left in muttered curses. A squadron of Dragoons 
followed immediately in rear of Captain C. F. Smith's 
command and the entire army marched over rapidly, 
reaching the opposite bank in thirty minutes from 
the order to move. As the head of the column reached 
the shore, the men with cheers formed in order of 
battle, the music struck up " Yankee Doodle," and 
we all marched rapidly up the hill. A few Mexicans 
were seen retreating, and the great battle of Arroyo 
Colorado was terminated ! 

The Mexican threats were all gasconade intended 
to intimidate General Taylor and delay our advance 
upon Matamoras. We encamped about three miles 
from the river to await the arrival of our baggage 
train and the Third Brigade which was still a day's 
march in the rear. If you consider the tale " all cry 
and no wool," I can only say it was interesting to us 
although the yellow gentlemen completely pulled 
the wool over our eyes. The Third Brigade came up 
about three o'clock in the afternoon and we waited 
another day for the train to arrive. 

On the twenty-third at sunrise we broke up our 
camp and moved in four columns in the direction of 
Matamoras, twenty-eight miles distant. The day 



32 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

was oppressively hot, our march rapid, and I had not 
been so much exhausted at any time as when a short 
halt was called a little after noon by the side of a 
muddy pond. We presented today an imposing 
spectacle as we moved in parallel columns across the 
open prairie, with our long baggage train close in our 
rear and our scouts far in advance and on our flanks 
examining every thicket. A thousand rumors were 
in the mouths of our newsmongers, of forces in our 
front ready. to eat us without pepper or salt. We 
made twelve miles and encamped just before sunset 
in a deep ravine which in high water is one of the out- 
lets of the Rio Grande. The country was beautiful 
during the whole day, the ground clothed with flowers 
which at the North are rare exotics. Many varieties 
of cactus were budding and blossoming around us, 
from the giant prickly pear to a diminutive little fellow 
just poking his thorny nose through the soil crowned 
with a brilHant blossom. I know the names of but few 
of this numerous family. The Turk's head is perhaps 
the most beautiful we have seen, presenting a semi- 
sphere only above the ground the size of a tolerably 
large watermelon while on the apex is a crown of 
brilhant feather-petalled blossoms. 

On the twenty-fourth we moved in the same order 
as on the previous day until we crossed the road from 
Matamoras to Point Isabel, at a place as we supposed 
about nine miles from the Point and eighteen from 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT ss 

the city. Here General Taylor with the Dragoons 
and a battery of artillery left us for Point Isabel where 
he expected to find our munitions, etc., with a few 
siege pieces and mortars expected by water. General 
Worth moved the three brigades five miles towards 
Matamoras and encamped. 

Rio Grande, Opposite Matamoras, 
March 29, 1846. 

On the twenty-sixth we advanced our camp three 
miles where we awaited General Taylor's return. He 
arrived on the evening of the twenty-seventh and on 
the twenty-eighth we moved off in our usual order 
but soon came into defiles through dense chaparral 
compelling us to march in single column. About 
half-past nine in the morning, we saw the first habi- 
tation since leaving Corpus Christi, and were soon 
marching between cultivated fields enclosed in high 
hedges cutting off all view of the country, save the 
thatched roofs of the cottages. At half-past ten we 
were marching upon the bank of the Rio Grande im- 
mediately in front and in full view of Matamoras, 
our colors flying and music playing. The Mexican 
flag was waving from various points over the city, 
sentinels posted on the opposite bank and a few men 
and women walking about carelessly. Most of the 
inhabitants have left this side, and all communication 
is cut off as they have taken all the boats over to their 



34 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

side. The authorities appeared very sulky neither 
fighting nor shaking hands. The river is a rapid 
stream two hundred yards wide, deep, and enclosed 
with perpendicular banks about twenty feet in height. 
After our camp was pitched I wandered down the 
bank among many others gazing at the fortifications 
and troops of the Mexicans. Their cavalry and in- 
fantry were moving about establishing pickets and 
guards in various directions along the bank. 

General Worth and staff, after much difiiculty, 
induced them to send over a boat to receive him with 
a flag. He crossed to their shore but General Mejia 
(pronounced Mahea) refused to receive any one but 
General Taylor. General Vegas, however, finally 
came to the shore and told General Worth, in amount, 
that they considered war begim by our invasion and 
they could hold no intercourse with us. 

In the afternoon, the habits of these people were 
curiously displayed. Young women came down to 
the river side, disrobed without any hesitation, and 
plunged into the stream, regardless of the numerous 
spectators on either bank. Some of our young officers 
were in the water opposite them and soon swam 
towards them. The Mexican guards were not, how- 
ever, disposed to let them come much nearer than the 
middle of the river, so they returned after kissing 
their hands to the tawny damsels which was laugh- 
ingly returned. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 35 

This morning we found the enemy had been busy 
during the night erecting breastworks and planting 
cannon opposite to us. What will be the result of all 
this I can only conjecture. We certainly ought not 
with so small a force be left here to face the whole 
Mexican nation. General Ampudia with more than 
three thousand veterans will, it is said, in a few days 
reach Matamoras. This is a sort of journal written 
under all sorts of disadvantages from time to time 
when I have been tired and weary. Many incidents 
of interest have been passed over, they will be sub- 
jects of conversation for us at some future day. . . . 

Camp Neak Matamoras, 
April 9, 1846. 

We have been as busy as a light infantry company 
on drill ever since we arrived eleven days ago. Such 
a night as last night I have never known in all my 
soldiering. We were at tea in my mess tent just be- 
fore sunset when suddenly one of our furious tropical 
storms struck us perfectly unexpectedly. I ran, leav- 
ing my mess mates laughing at my haste. In a moment 
more, however, their tent was prostrated over their 
heads, the dishes, tea, sugar, etc., with all the sun- 
dries of the mess chest which was open, the lid serving 
for a table, in one amorphous mass under a perfect 
deluge of rain. In the meantime, I had reached my 
tent which unaided I was endeavoring to secure. I 



36 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

had barely time to roll my bed in an oil cloth, when 
the tent pins on the windward side began to yield, 
the rain driving in upon me in torrents. Edmund ^ 
at this moment arrived from under the mess tent and 
with the assistance of a few men we managed to 
secure our frail house. We had just moved our camp 
into a com field newly ploughed, the soil an adhesive 
clay, and by the time I had in some measure secured 
my baggage — which old soldierlike, I first attended 
to — the water was some inches deep, or rather there 
was a soft adhesive mortar bed, about ankle deep, 
over the whole camp. The rain and gale were still at 
their worst, when I began looking about to see '* the 
state of the nation." In every direction the tents 
were overthrown and their contents scattered in the 
mud. My own company had almost entirely disap- 
peared, a few despairing wretches, groping about in 
the mud for their arms, were all that were left. The 
fires were extinguished and desolation reigned through- 
out the camp. In an hour or two the storm somewhat 
abated, fires were rekindled and efforts made to repair 
damages, but to little purpose. The arms were put 
in forming order and the men sat or stood about in 
miserable groups, without any possibility of sleeping, 
and at reveille this morning our whole brigade was 
marched to the works, it being our detail on a large 

' His brother, afterwards in the Civil War the Confederate 
General, Edmund Kirby Smith. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 37 

fortification, which we are constructing as rapidly as 
possible. , . . We are here neither in a state of peace 
nor war. Our pickets and patrols have exchanged 
some shots, and several deserters have been killed in 
endeavoring to cross the river. The Mexican author- 
ities have shot or hung one of our Dragoons as a 
spy. He was in truth a deserter and was executed in 
retaliation for one of their soldiers, who, they say, 
was shot by one of our patrols. This needs confirma- 
tion. We contend with one annoyance that is almost 
insupportable. We are completely overrun with 
wood ticks. I am sure I pull out of my flesh on an 
average fifty per day. They annoy some persons but 
slightly, me, they poison wherever they bite. My 
person looks as if I had the confluent smallpox. Here 
is tattoo. . . . 

April ig. The aspect of Mexican and Oregon affairs 
changes more frequently than the moon. Perhaps 
one of them depends upon the other. If England 
and Uncle Sam settle the Oregon question, Mexico 
may be more readily induced to treat on the subject 
of Texas; but if John Bull and Brother Jonathan 
get by the ears, our yellow neighbors aided and 
sustained by English guineas will probably persist 
until, as they boast, their eagles are planted on the 
Sabine. . . . 

Since I wrote last, matters have had a serious war- 
like tendency. General Ampudia who relieved General 



38 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Mejia in command at Matamoras has sent a dispatch 
to General Taylor, requiring him to retreat in twenty- 
four hours, and adding that his refusal to do so would 
be considered a declaration of war. This, of course, 
was not acceded to by General Taylor, who replied 
that he had been sent here by his Government and 
should remain ; that if Ampudia chose to attack him, 
the consequences must rest on his own head and upon 
the Mexican nation. The next day, it is said, a 
courier arrived with orders superseding General Am- 
pudia, and placing General Arista in command of the 
Northern army. So that General Ampudia has retired 
in disgust. 

On the tenth Colonel Truman Cross, Department 
Quarter-Master General, left camp unattended, for a 
ride. He was seen in the course of the morning about 
three miles up the river, but has not since been heard 
from. Every effort has been made to ascertain his 
fate, but as yet we have not discovered the slightest 
clue to it. It was hoped for some days that he was a 
prisoner at Matamoras, but we now know he is not 
there. He has undoubtedly been killed, the first vic- 
tim of annexation. This melancholy event has cast a 
gloom over the whole camp. Lieutenant Deas swam 
the river a few days since and is now a prisoner. 

We are very strongly posted here though still in a 
ploughed field and extremely dirty and uncomfortable. 
The camp is very healthy, not a man in the whole 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 39 

army has died since we left Corpus Christi. . . . 

April 22. Colonel Cross's remains have been found 

and were brought to camp last evening. He was 

murdered by banditti. 

Camp Near Matamoras, 
April 28, 1846. 

Since my last letter we have had busy and exciting 
times. I have already mentioned that on the nine- 
teenth Lieutenant T. Porter with one private of the 
Fourth Infantry were killed. On the twenty-fifth 
Colonel Cross's remains were buried at the foot of 
our flagstaff. His son intends removing his body to 
Washington. On the twenty-fourth information had 
been received from our spies that the enemy were 
crossing the river some miles below us fifteen hundred 
strong, and also twenty-eight miles above with a 
force of twenty-five hundred. 

A squadron of Dragoons was sent down the river to 
ascertain the truth of the report in that direction, but 
returned next day finding no enemy. At the same time 
two troops under command of Captain Thornton were 
sent up the river. They were composed of Captains 
Thornton and Hardee, Lieutenants Mason and Kane, 
with fifty-two enlisted men, well mounted, well 
equipped, as gallant a little band as ever struck a 
blow. On the morning of the twenty-sixth their 
guide, a Mexican, returned and stated that he had 
left them twenty miles above having learned that the 



40 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

enemy were in force near them. Shortly after he 
parted from them, he heard many volleys of musketry, 
and abandoning his horse he secreted himself in the 
chaparral where he remained concealed all day. Two 
mounted Mexicans passed his position, examining 
the houses and the shrubbery, evidently in search of 
him. He kept quiet until night when he came to 
camp as fast as possible to make his report. His con- 
clusion was, that the whole party were killed to a man. 
Everyone at first discredited him entirely, but as hours 
rolled by and none of the band appeared his sad tale 
gained credence. At one in the afternoon, as we were 
going to the trenches to work, the whole army work- 
ing by six-hour reliefs, we met a Mexican cart bring- 
ing in a wounded Dragoon, sent by the Mexican 
General Torrejou from motives of humanity, with a 
note to General Taylor stating that he had no flying 
hospital, and confirming in part the report of the 
guide, but rendering it a little less horrible by stating 
that all were not killed, some of them having been 
captured, who, he said, would receive the treatment 
due to prisoners of war. 

In the course of the afternoon a parley was sounded 
from the other side, and a boat crossed bringing over 
another wounded Dragoon and an official report from 
Captain Hardee. He states in substance that in 
obedience to orders Captain Thornton proceeded up 
the river fifteen miles on the night of the twenty- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 41 

fourth, and started again at the dawn of the next day. 
The guide being convinced that the Mexicans were 
near, in force, refused to go any farther, in which he 
was justifiable, as his Ufe would be the certain forfeit 
if he were taken. Captain Thornton was, however, 
unconvinced of the presence of a foe, and determined 
to proceed. In a short time they came to a large farm 
with some houses at the upper end, the whole sur- 
rounded by a dense chaparral hedge. They rode into 
this field, single file, by a pair of bars which were about 
two hundred yards from the houses, Captain Thornton 
in advance, and Captain Hardee in the rear. The men 
immediately scattered among the houses, many dis- 
mounting seeking some one to question. No guard 
was left at the entrance. While in this situation the 
alarm was given the Mexicans were upon them. An 
order to retreat was promptly given, but too late. 
On reaching the pass, it was found closed and covered 
by a heavy body of infantry. They were nearly sur- 
rounded, the Mexicans firing upon them from three 
directions, the river side alone being open. They, 
however, remained undaunted and rode down by the 
fence to the right. At this time Captain Hardee said 
to Captain Thornton, *' Our only chance is to tear down 
the fence and cut our way to the rear." Thornton 
assented, but his horse, a noble, powerful roan, became 
ungovernable and ran off with him, followed by many 
of the men. The last that was seen of Thornton, his 



42 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

horse by a desperate and extraordinary leap was clear- 
ing the fence. Captain Hardee immediately rallied 
the residue of the troops and pushed for the river, in- 
tending to swim it and go down on the other side. 
This was found impracticable, the bank being ex- 
tremely boggy. Hardee then counted his men — 
twenty-five besides Lieutenant Kane and himself, 
some of whom were wounded, and all having lost 
either a sabre, a pistol, or a carbine — and formed 
them in order of battle, all resolutely determined to 
sell their lives as dearly as possible if they could not 
obtain honorable terms. Hardee advanced by himself 
and was met by a Mexican oflScer, with whom favor- 
able terms were arranged, and they at once laid down 
their arms. When all the prisoners were collected 
they numbered forty-five, six of whom were woUnded. 
Seven of our men were killed, and Captain Thorn- 
ton and Lieutenant Mason were missing, presumed 
dead. 

The prisoners were all marched to Matamoras and 
paraded in triumph. The conditions of the surrender 
were complied with, — the officers receiving half-pay 
and civil treatment and the men rations or twenty- 
five cents per day. This morning another message 
was received from Matamoras with letters from 
Thornton, aHve after all, in which he stated that he 
was finally taken, by his horse falling and rendering 
him insensible. The Mexican, Colonel Torrejou, who 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 43 

is a native of Pensacola. says Thornton most gallantly 
cut his way through their infantn* and cavalr}' and 
went off apparently unhurt though closely pursued, 
and that he was within five or six miles of our camp 
when his roan leaped or fell over a precipice lea\TQg 
Thornton insensible, in which situation he was taken 
prisoner. Our men. of coui^e. are not allowed to 
make any definite statements concerning the Mexican 
force or losses, their communications being open and 
passing through the hands of the commanding officer. 
Thus far our little parties have been most unfortunate. 
We hope, however, in a few days in a pitched battle 
to satisfy these gentlemen that it is necessar}' for them 
to keep to their own side of the river, and even then 
we shall not let them remain long unmolested. We 
are only waiting to finish the fort, so as to secure our 
px)sition. when we shall be at them let their num- 
bers be what they may. For many days we have had 
constant information that their forces were increasing 
by large accessions from the interior, while ours have 
been decreasing by numerous discharges and from 
other causes. Unless they felt they were strong they 
would not dare be in our rear, as it is to be believed 
they are. At all events, our communication is almost 
if not entirely cut off with Point Isabel, to which place 
we must and will fight our wav. 



44 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Point Isabel, 
May 3, 1846. 

Day before yesterday we left our fort in command 
of Major Brown and garrisoned by the Seventh In- 
fantry and two companies of artillery with eight 
pieces. We started at three in the afternoon and 
marched eight miles through the chaparral by sunset 
and arrived here, thirty miles, after a terrible forced 
march, before noon yesterday. Before reveille this 
morning we heard the guns from our fort near Mata- 
moras, which has undoubtedly been attacked. It is 
now ten in the morning and we still hear the cannon. 
What will be the result no one can conjecture, for in 
truth we know little in regard to the forces of the 
enemy, their numbers being variously reported from 
five to fifteen thousand. Probably it does not exceed 
six thousand. We are to march from here at one 
o'clock today to the rescue, as we suppose, of our Httle 
command before Matamoras. We are about two 
thousand strong and may be interrupted in our march. 

Point Isabel, 
May 7, 1846. 

I have only time to write a line to say that as yet 
all is well. We have heard from our fort. Captain 
Walker, a gallant fellow, commanding a few Texan 
rangers, left there on the night of the fourth and suc- 
ceeded in reaching here with dispatches from Major 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 45 

Brown. At that time the enemy had fired near fifteen 
hundred balls and shells at the work, without produc- 
ing the least effect, and our eighteen-pounders had 
silenced most of their batteries. The enemy's shot 
are all made of copper, so you see we have the copper 
rage here as well as at the North. But one man had 
been killed in the fort, a sergeant of the Seventh, by 
the bursting of a shell. This afternoon we start back 
with the wagon train, but it is thought doubtful 
whether the enemy oppose our march. 

Battle Field, 

Three Miles from Matamoras, 

May 10, 1846. 

[Giving an account of the battles of the eighth and 
ninth named Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma.] On 
the seventh we left Point Isabel and lay on our arms 
after marching seven miles. On the morning of the 
eighth we moved on steadily and at a little before 
twelve the enemy were reported in force some miles 
in our advance. We pushed on and by two o'clock 
deployed in order of battle, the Mexicans showing 
themselves in line in much superior numbers. At 
three they opened their batteries upon us — but I 
cannot detail at this time. Suffice it to say, that all 
behaved gallantly, the Fifth sustaining the only 
cavalry charge made during the day. Captain John 
Page was mortally wounded. Major Ringgold des- 
perately. Many shght wounds were received, and a 



46 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

considerable number of the rank and file killed. We 
bivouacked on the field, and on the morning of the 
ninth, after a council of war, we pushed forward, the 
enemy showing their force in rear of their original 
position. They retired as we advanced, and the entire 
battle field was examined. At least eighty of their 
dead were found, besides many large graves. The 
prisoners reported their force as seventy-five hundred. 
At twelve we went ahead rapidly, and at three o'clock 
we engaged the foe in an entrenched camp three or 
four miles from the fort. Here ensued the most 
desperate and bloody fight our army has known since 
1812. 

The fight lasted until near night, when we were 
completely victorious, the enemy totally routed with 
the loss of all their cannon, baggage, etc. Much of 
the fight was desperate, personal, hand-to-hand en- 
counters, but the eager courage of our men overcame 
superior numbers and drove them from their strong 
position. Many hundreds have fallen, the loss of the 
Mexicans has been terrific. Their dead are strewed 
over the whole field. We have five ofiicers killed, and 
twelve wounded, Colonel Mcintosh desperately, and 
Captain Hove will lose his right arm. Edmund 
and myself, though in the thickest of the fight — men 
falling around us on all sides — were unhurt. All 
have behaved as if the word fear was not in their 
vocabularies. General La Vega and many others are 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 47 

prisoners. Such a victory is hardly on record. I 
cannot write another word now but will give you 
a thousand particulars when I have leisure. 

[More particulars of the battles of the eighth and 
ninth of May, 1846.] 

At Our Old Camp Opposite Matamoras, 
May 13, 1846. 

On the eighth, as I anticipated, we met the enemy 
on the prairie and fought them five hours — whipping 
them severely. It was mostly a cannonade, the Fifth 
being the only regiment closely engaged. To describe 
more particularly our position on the eighth — we 
had proceeded quietly on our route until near twelve 
at noon when we learned that the enemy were in 
great force in our front some two miles. We almost 
immediately halted at some ponds, all getting a re- 
freshing drink. We were then deployed in order 
of battle and marched steadily forward until we saw 
the enemy's line more than a mile distant. The 
Fifth Infantry was the right of our line, then Ring- 
gold's battery, next the Third and Fourth Infantry, 
next two eighteens under Lieutenant Churchill, then 
eleven companies of artillery, the Eighth Infantry, 
and on the extreme left Duncan's battery protected 
by a squadron of Dragoons. Our force in the aggre- 
gate was less than twenty-one hundred men and we 
were encumbered by a large wagon train (about two 



48 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

hundred) loaded with stores and ammunition for the 
fort. The Mexican lines extended far beyond our 
right and left, and we have since ascertained that they 
had more than seven thousand regular troops in the 
field. The action commenced by a cannonade from 
the enemy's right and was soon followed by the pieces 
at the intervals through their entire line. Ringgold's 
and Duncan's batteries were at once thrown forward 
replying with a most deadly fire. The enemy's shot 
were playing briskly through our ranks, the wounded 
and dying at our feet producing no effect upon the 
admirable discipline of the men — the occasional ex- 
pression of a wish to charge being the only evidence 
that they felt their position out of musket range and 
exposed to the deadly fire of many cannon. Our 
eighteens opened at the same time with the other 
guns and evidently produced confusion in the enemy's 
centre. We soon saw the movement of a large force of 
cavalry from the Mexican left toward our right with 
the evident intention of taking us in the flank. It 
was seen by our General, and the Fifth were ordered 
to the right and front to intercept them. After 
rapidly marching more than one-fourth of a mile the 
word was, " Here they come ! " and we at once formed 
square against cavalry and stood firmly at a shoulder. 
They rode upon us eight hundred strong. When about 
a hundred feet from us they delivered their fire and 
continued their charge. A few of our men fell wounded 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 49 

but not a man wavered. At this moment the fire of 
our second front was delivered with as much precision 
as on drill, and with a most withering effect. Walker's 
rangers, about twenty of whom were on our right, 
gave them their rifle balls with their usual coolness 
and deadly aim. They immediately broke to the left 
and went off at a run. During the charge, two pieces 
from Ringgold's battery imder Ridgely had come up 
in our rear and as the ground would not allow them 
to pass on our flanks, we by a side movement gave 
them room to fire and their deadly grape and canister 
completed the rout which we had so well begun. 
The cannonade continued until night closed in when 
the spectacle was magnificent. The prairie was burn- 
ing brilliantly between the two armies and some 
twenty pieces of artillery thundering from right to left, 
while through the lurid scene was heard the tramp- 
ing of horses and the wild cheering of the men. After 
dark our train was parked upon the battle field and 
we lay upon our arms until daylight. This ended the 
battle of Palo Alto. Major Ringgold and Captain 
Page mortally wounded. The enemy suffered horribly, 
having by their own statement about five hundred 
killed. 

In the morning our line was formed, our train left 
entrenched, defended by a rear guard and four twelve- 
pounders. The Fifth was pushed forward by heads 
of companies to a point of chaparral a half mile in 



50 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

advance of the line. The ground was reconnoitred 
and it was ascertained that the main body had re- 
treated during the night, having buried a portion of 
their dead. Skirmishes under Captains McCall and 
C. F. Smith were thrown in advance to feel the enemy 
and ascertain their position. 

Between eleven and twelve we marched, the Fifth 
in advance followed by Ringgold's battery under 
Ridgely. After marching six miles we learned that 
the skirmishers had discovered the enemy strongly 
posted two miles in our advance. It is almost im- 
possible to understand with what our little army had 
to contend unless the ground is seen. On each side 
extending for miles was a dense thorny thicket or 
chaparral cut by deep ravines and narrow ponds 
through which passes the road to Matamoras. As 
we advanced we heard the skirmishers engaged — 
halted — to let Ridgely's battery pass, and then im- 
mediately deployed as skirmishers to the left of the 
road and pushed for the enemy. The chaparral broke 
us into small parties and when I came up to the 
skirmishers under McCall I had not more than twenty 
of my men with me and not another of the Fifth in 
sight. The enemy's grape and canister from ten 
pieces, nines, and sixes were whipping the bushes about 
our ears, the small shot falling thickly amongst us. 
I, at this time, examined their position. They were 
strongly posted on a ravine which crosses the road 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 51 

where it makes a slight turn. It was deep and the 
crest opposite us entrenched to protect their Infantry 
— the whole surrounded by a thicket so dense that we 
could not see into it. The few of us who were in this 
advanced position saw at once the absolute necessity 
of charging their guns to gain the battle, and for this 
purpose moved to the right where we were joined by 
many more of the Fifth on the edge of the road. We 
had already begun our charge when the shout came 
down the road, " Charge Fifth ! " A squadron of 
Dragoons charged by us immediately into their bat- 
teries. Most gallantly was it done while the welkin 
rung with our tremendous cheers. May dispersed 
the party at their guns but could not of course, with 
horse, maintain them. The Fifth dashed into the 
ravine after them and from right to left the most 
desperate hand-to-hand fighting ensued. The enemy 
here fought Uke devils. Our men, however, knew that 
if conquered they would get no quarter and there was 
no possibility of a retreat, and though surrounded by 
vastly superior numbers fought with desperation. 
Their aim was steady and often with a rest in the 
fork of a bush. In the hand-to-hand conflicts which 
were occurring in every part of the field our officers 
and men were decidedly superior. 

The desperate conflict could not last and the Mexi- 
cans fled utterly routed. They were followed to the 
neighborhood of the fort where they took the river in 



52 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

every direction receiving the fire of the eighteens on 
the parapet as they were swimming over. We have 
heard that three hundred were drowned in crossing, 
including their priest and several officers. Thus ter- 
minated one of the most desperate actions in which 
our army was ever engaged. We lost in killed and 
wounded about one hundred and forty. Lieutenant 
Inge fell in May's charge. Lieutenants Chadbourne 
and Cochrane on the eighth. Colonels Mcintosh and 
Payne, Captain Hove, Lieutenants Gates and Jordan 
were badly wounded and many others slightly. The 
enemy must have lost at least one thousand men in 
the action and in the retreat. Of the Tampico Guarda 
Costas, one of the best regiments in their service, only 
twenty-six escaped. We took eight pieces of artillery, 
fifteen hundred stand of small arms, two hundred and 
forty thousand rounds of musket cartridges, about 
six hundred pack mules with all their packs, their 
camp equipage and the personal baggage of the officers, 
General Arista's portfolio, plate, tent, etc. The artil- 
lery battahon under Childs was held in reserve dur- 
ing the action, so that we actually had only about 
fourteen hundred men engaged while the enemy had 
a larger force than on the eighth, having been reen- 
forced during the night by one thousand choice troops 
from Matamoras. They thought they had us in a 
cul-de-sac and cannot account for our victory. Ed- 
mund behaved with great gallantry taking a piece 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 53 

and bringing it from the midst of the enemy. But it 
is impossible to make distinctions where all fought 
with equal courage. I saw no man falter and the ob- 
ject of each seemed to be to find the largest crowd of 
Mexicans. It is a glorious fact for the army that there 
were no volunteers with us. What will Mr. Black 
say now about the little drill sergeants, etc. ? 

Matamoras, Mexico, 
May 19, 1846. 

My last hurried note was written from the battle 
field the morning after the desperate action of Resaca 
de la Palma. I hope you will receive my letter before 
you are made anxious by the newspapers. That I 
was not killed is wonderful as I was in the ravine 
where so many fell closely engaged with a much su- 
perior force, and I cannot express my gratitude to a 
kind God who yet spares me. During the tenth much 
was done to clear the field of the dead. I saw eighty- 
three in one pile already partially decomposed by the 
side of the pit into which they were to be thrown. 
Many hundreds were lying about and the vultures 
were already at their widespread feast, the wolves 
howling and fighting over their dreadful meal. Before 
morning the scent of the carnage became almost 
insupportable. On the eleventh we marched to Fort 
Brown, named after its gallant defender who was 
killed in it by a shell on the fourth. General Taylor 



54 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

and the wounded went to Point Isabel. Poor Hove's 
right arm was amputated near the shoulder. He is 
doing well. Colonels Mcintosh and Payne are in 
great danger. 

On the seventeenth General Taylor having returned 
from Point Isabel we were ordered a few miles up the 
river where preparations had been made to cross and 
invest Matamoras. 

On the eighteenth the passage commenced, the 
enemy offering no opposition. A few companies as 
skirmishers, a squadron of Dragoons and a field bat- 
tery of four pieces were over and the Fifth on the 
move when we learned that Arista with his entire 
force, still forty-five hundred strong, were in full re- 
treat. We crossed and the residue of the army went 
down the river and passed over at the town. We 
marched immediately to the city, five miles, and soon 
saw our flag floating over the Mexican fort. We halted 
without our baggage in a ploughed field in the suburbs, 
not being allowed to enter the city, and lay down upon 
the bare ground tired and hungry enough. Towards 
night the interdict was removed and I went to town 
where I soon succeeded in getting a good cup of coffee 
and a piece of bread at a restaurant. The town is 
much like St. Augustine, only with larger, wider streets 
and finer public buildings. Strong patrols were kept 
moving through the streets to protect the inhabitants 
and prevent riot. We found near four hundred of 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 55 

Arista's wounded whom he had left in the hospital 
when he fled. It is thought that General Taylor will 
move towards Monterey, a large fortified city three 
hundred miles on the road to the City of Mexico, but 
no one knows with certainty what he will do. . . . 
How long we remain inactive where we are is very 
uncertain. The volunteers are arriving in great num- 
bers and an immense wagon train must be collected 
before we can move forward upon Monterey which we 
think is the first point at which the enemy can make 
a decided stand. By the road it is nearly three hun- 
dred miles here to that town. 

Camp Matamoras, 
My DEAR SON,-i May 30, 1846. 

Your excellent letter was received long since. I 
acknowledged its reception immediately in a letter 
to your mother, and should have written to you be- 
fore now, were I not so occupied and so inconveniently 
situated in a tent, as to make it almost impossible 
to write at all. One of the most violent storms which 
has assailed us in this region is now raging and it has 
cost me a good ducking and much labor to secure my 
tent. Several of my brother officers are at this mo- 
ment standing about in the rain, their tents completely 

^ Joseph Lee Kirby Smith, a boy not yet eleven years old, 
graduated at West Point, Class of 1857, and commanded a demi- 
Brigade, United States Army, at the Battle of Corinth, Miss., 
October 4, 1862, where he was mortally wounded, shot in the face as 
his father was, dying aged twenty-six. 



56 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

blown away and their trunks, bedding, etc., lying 
about in the wet and mud. 

Since the battles of Palo Alto (long pole) and Resaca 
de la Palma, which means the watering place of the 
Palmas — Palma being the name of a family — I have 
written twice to your mother, once from the battle 
field, the day after the action, and again since the 
capture of Matamoras. I hope those letters have 
both been received. I trust, my dear boy, that you 
in your prayers return thanks to a kind Providence 
who has protected your father in the extreme perils 
through which he has passed uninjured. Many men 
were killed and wounded at his side by bullets, un- 
doubtedly aimed at him. Remember this with a 
grateful heart in your daily devotion and pray ear- 
nestly that he may be spared in coming dangers so that 
he may train you and your brother in the service of 
that just and Omnipotent Master to whom we must 
all finally render an account. 

Your old friend Ryan,^ who once saved your life, 
was shot through the shoulder by my side on the 
ninth, and Geary, whom you will remember, was shot 
in the forehead and fell at my feet in the action of the 
eighth. They are both recovering rapidly, though I 
fear Ryan will have a stiff arm. 

We think there will be no more fighting in the 
valley of the Rio Grande — the Mexicans are so 

^ Private soldier who had saved the boy from drowning at four 
years old. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 57 

entirely routed, and we are so much strengthened by 
the arrival of volunteers that it is thought they can- 
not in this quarter assemble another army to oppose 

us. . , . 

Camp at Matamoras, 

June 2, 1846. 

A mixed command of volunteers and regulars is 
to be sent in a few days to Rejoiosa and Camargo from 
fifty to eighty miles up the river. I think they will 
have no fighting and the " Bloody Fifth " will not be 
sent. Major Belton is daily expected to arrive with 
some additional companies of artillery and we shall 
then have in the field a regular force of more than 
three thousand, and probably a volunteer force of 
ten thousand. I do not think from all I can learn 
from the most intelligent Mexicans here that the 
" magnanimous Mexican nation " will make peace 
on any terms, until they are dictated to her in the 
valley of Mexico. What long marches, bloody sieges, 
and dreadful battles are to be encountered before 
then cannot be foretold but that all will have to be 
met is most certain. . . . No news except the Second 
Infantry ordered here and a rumor that General 
Scott is coming to take command of the Army of 
Invasion. 

[The tenth of June Captain Smith, having heard of 
the sudden death of his father at St. Augustine, 
Florida, and there being no active operations at that 



58 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

time with the army, obtained a leave of sixty days, 
during which time he visited his family at the North, 
and started on his return to the front August 24, via 
Buffalo, Chicago, and Alton.] 

Steamboat " North Carolina," 
Forty Miles Below St. Louis, 
September 5, 1846. 

" There is no end to human calamity! " 111 luck has 
pursued me every step from Chicago, where I arrived 
Saturday, the twenty-ninth ultimo. I was there en- 
couraged with the idea that I should reach St. Louis 
by the night of the first, and to ensure it I engaged 
an extra in company with some other gentlemen, pay- 
ing double fare to Peru where we expected to meet a 
boat. We were to reach that place in fourteen hours. 
We started at four in the afternoon and at daylight 
next morning were only thirty-six miles from Chicago, 
and did not arrive at our destination until night when 
we found the Illinois very low and no boat. By our 
contract we were to have been sent forward in the 
mail stage, but it passed in the night, full, and we lost 
our chance. In the morning we took another extra 
to Peoria — seventy miles — with an express engage- 
ment to overtake the mail at that point, or to be sent 
on immediately. We arrived at Peoria in good time 
but the agent for the line utterly refused to fulfil the 
contract and we were detained twenty-four hours, 
neither threats nor bribes being of any avail. My 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 59 

fellow sufferers were Judge B , the M. C. from 

St. Louis and his wife, a lovely lady, a Dr. L 

from St. Louis and a Mr. H and his sister from 

Lysander. We finally got off in the mail stage 
Tuesday night and thought our detentions were over. 
We were to reach Alton at eight and St. Louis by 
ten in the morning. It rained violently, the roads 
were heavy and it was after twelve at noon when we 
drove down the hill into Alton. The packet was gone 
and we were detained until this morning, when I suc- 
ceeded in getting on board a light draught Ohio River 
boat which I shall leave at Cairo where I hope to 
overtake the " Tempest," a fast down-river boat. I 
have been so much delayed that I fear I cannot 
reach my regiment 'til after my leave has expired. I 
shall be much mortified and distressed should there 
be an engagement before I join and after the expira- 
tion of my leave. A fight seems certain as the Mexi- 
cans are concentrating a strong force at Monterey, 
and although Paredes is dethroned I think it will not 
alter the relations between the two Governments. 
Santa Anna may prove our bitterest foe. I find 
whenever I meet an officer that dissatisfaction with 
the brevets, and total disgust at the whole course of 
the Administration is felt by a large majority of the 
army. I have determined to keep quiet and simply 
do my duty without looking for distinction. ... As 
I am now on the mighty river, I cannot suffer from 



6o TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

jnuch more detention and shall hope to overtake the 
Second Infantry at New Orleans. . . . 

Cairo, Sept. 6, 1846. 

I landed here at daylight this morning. The ** Tem- 
pest " had passed here last evening, so here I must 
wait another opportunity. You perhaps remember 
this place at the mouth of the Ohio. There is an im- 
mense hotel and a few warehouses which were erected 
during the speculating mania of '35 and '36. They 
are now unoccupied and are sad monuments of that 
period of folly. The site of the town is overflowed in 
high water and in the hot season it is exceedingly 
sickly, bilious and intermittent fevers being prevalent. 
We stepped from our boat upon an old hull which has 
been moored here and fitted up as a house of enter- 
tainment. It was a boat of the largest class and the 
magnificent cabin of one of the most expensive boats 
ever built on the Western waters has been transferred 
to it, the staterooms being used for sleeping apart- 
ments, and the long range of saloons for drawing- 
rooms, dining-room, etc. It is well kept, no gambling 
or drinking being allowed on board; each one, how- 
ever, is compelled to be his own servant, everything 
being exceedingly democratic. It is very hot and 
solitary, not a single boat being here this morning. 
The prospect outside is anything but inviting. The 
low grounds around are covered with rank, unwhole- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 6i 

som6-lookmg weeds, the river coated with a thick 
layer of yellow, slimy, putrid-looking ooze, the filth of 
the river Ohio for a hundred miles collected in the 
slack water at the mouth through which the catfish 
can scarcely squirm and upon which a hght-footed 
lass might run, all lying under a burning sun un- 
moved by a breath of air. Over all reigns the stillness 
of a Sabbath morning unbroken by a sound save the 
screams of a dirty wench girl who is playing in the 
mud in the shadow of the boat with a pet bear. 
Imagine all this and you will have the scene which 
surrounds me and which I am doomed to enjoy the 
entire day. The only other guest the landlord has 
at this time is the captain of the steamer " Bulletin," 
waiting for a rise of water. He sits at present under 
the awning on the boiler deck intellectually em- 
ployed with a long nine and an old newspaper. . . . 

St. Charles, New Orleans, 
September 23, 1846. 

I have a sad tale to tell you of all my ill luck since I 
wrote you from Cairo. I embarked at that place on 
the " Wave," commanded by Captain White, a very 
clever man. The boat was heavily freighted, having 
three hundred horses, some mules, and about two 
hundred sheep on the lower deck and was certainly 
the slowest team I ever saw. For two days we paddled 
leisurely down stream. I was all anxiety to overtake 



62 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

the Second Infantry at New Orleans which in a fast 
boat would have been quite practicable but I de- 
spaired on the slow rolling " Wave," and had the 
happiness of shifting my quarters to the " Wing and 
Wing " on the third day. Fast then we sped for the 
Crescent City — but a new calamity befell me. I was 
taken sick, evidently threatened with bilious fever. I 
kept up however in the hope of overtaking Colonel 
Riley and on Saturday evening reached here just a 
few hours too late, the Second having left that morn- 
ing. I was down sick with remittent bilious fever and 
compelled to send for a doctor. By last Friday I was 
convalescent but the doctor would not allow me to 
proceed in a boat which left for Brasos that day, so I 
sent his certificate and reported myself sick here. . . .- 
Thursday the twenty-fourth I shall leave for Point 
Isabel in the " McKim," having suflSciently recovered 
my health. 

Anchorage off Brasos, Santiago, 
Steamer "McKim," 

September 30, 1846. 

It is early morning. We have lain here rolling in a 
heavy sea since yesterday. The lighter has just come 
off bringing news of a dreadful fight at Monterey. 
The steamer " James L. Day " is firing up inside to 
take the news to New Orleans and I hasten to give 
you what little news I have been able to gather. 
The fight commenced by an attack on the fortified 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 63 

heights near Monterey on the twenty-first, our forces 
gradually gaining on the enemy until the twenty- 
fourth, when General Ampudia capitulated. Our loss 
was terrible, that of the Mexicans not yet ascertained. 
On our side Captain L. N. Morris, Captain Field, 
Brevet Major Barbour, Lieutenant Irwin, Lieutenant 
Hazlitt, Lieutenant Wood, Captain McKavett, and 
Lieutenant Hoskins were killed and many other offi- 
cers badly wounded. It is said there are five hundred 
of the rank and file killed and woimded. The Ten- 
nessee volunteers suffered much. General Worth, it 
is reported, greatly distinguished himself. We know 
on board no other particulars, not even the terms of 
the capitulation. I could lie down and cry of vexa- 
tion and grief at not being there, though perhaps it is 
all for the best and we shall have more fighting. . . . 

Camargo, 
October 12, 1846. 

I arrived here a week ago today and have been de- 
tained for a train and escort to proceed to Monterey. 
This is the hottest and dustiest place I have ever seen. 
It is on the right or east bank of the San Juan about 
three miles from its junction with the Rio Grande. 
The banks are about thirty feet above the present 
level of the water, though in the spring it rises five or 
six feet above their crests, washing away the founda- 
tions of the houses which are principally built of stone 



64 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

one story in height. Some of them are rather impos- 
ing looking buildings and have been surrounded by 
fine gardens, orange groves, etc. Alas ! they are now 
laid waste by flood and war. The best of the inhabi- 
tants are gone. Speaking of an escort to Monterey, 
it is at aU times unsafe for any but strong parties to 
pass through this country, and the danger, of course, 
is much increased now when it is torn by invasion. I 
have received an order from General Patterson to 
organize an escort for the supply train from the re- 
covered sick of the regular and volunteer forces left 
here by the army now at Monterey. On inquiry I 
find I shall have a command of about seventy-one 
regulars and one hundred and twelve volunteers 
rank and file, with nearly twenty ofiicers. With this 
Falstaff regiment with which I should blush to march 
through Coventry, I shall take the field in the course 
of the week and shall probably reach Monterey in 
eight or nine days. Monterey and the valley in which 
it is situated is described by all who have seen it as 
unsurpassed in beauty, and having a climate which 
may be envied by all the rest of the world. The city, 
which usually contains about twelve thousand inhabi- 
tants, is strongly fortified and stands at the foot of 
that immense range of mountains known as the Sierra 
Madre, at the outlet of the defile which leads to the 
city of Saltillo and on the head waters of the San 
Juan. . . . With regard to the battle I know Httle 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 65 

more than you will learn from the papers. The Fifth 
(in which you are particularly interested), in common 
with the rest, behaved well and did good service. Only 
one man of the regiment was killed and some twenty- 
four wounded. Rossell received a slight flesh wound. 
I wonder where the ball found flesh enough for its 
passage, without hitting the bone. Of the numerous 
occurrences of the battle field, I have only time to 
relate one which struck me as particularly affecting. 
It is connected with the death of Brevet Major Phil 
Barbour. When struck by the ball which caused his 
death in a few seconds, he immediately drew from 
his bosom his wife's miniature, opened it and ex- 
claimed: " Tell her I died on the field of victory! " 
put it to his lips and instantly expired. . . . 

Monterey, 
October 26, 1846. 

I wrote you from Camargo, which place I left on the 
fifteenth in command of my ragged battaHon. It was 
a serious task to control such a heterogeneous body 
composed as it was of volunteers from different com- 
mands, sneaks and invaHds of all the regular com- 
panies who were left behind at this place when the 
army advanced. Nevertheless, by rigid discipHne 
and close watching I succeeded in controlling them. 
The first day's march was within a short distance of 
the Rio Grande upon the Mexican side, through a 



66 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

tolerably fertile country with extensive corn fields 
and occasional sugar fields. The fruit trees were 
oranges, pomegranates, peaches, bananas, with a few 
other inferior tropical fruits, not being many, however, 
of any kind. The population was much greater than 
I anticipated, though in intelligence the inhabitants 
but little surpassed the aborigines of the west, and 
are certainly inferior to them in physical development. 
We advanced steadily on the second day to the city of 
Mier, on a branch of the Rio Grande, a neat and toler- 
ably well-built Mexican town, the inhabitants of 
rather better character than any I had seen in the 
country. The stream on which it stands is a beauti- 
ful, clear, rapid torrent running over a rocky bed. 
From this place the route passed through Punta 
Aguada, Cerralvo, and Marina. The country became 
exceedingly rocky, broken, and barren, with very few 
inhabitants between the towns. The horizon was 
closed by the lofty Sierra whose blue summits were 
crowned with clouds. As we approached the moun- 
tains their peculiar character became more evident. 
They are undoubtedly of volcanic origin and of most 
sublime appearance, in one place shooting up to a 
vast height in a cluster of cones whose summits 
pierced the clouds, their sharp points showing above 
their fleecy belts, in another towering in huge beetling 
clifi's again broken into every fantastic shape, pre- 
senting on their lofty summits the appearance of 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 67 

ruined castles, cities, and fortifications. Immediately 
on passing through Marina, which was at noon on the 
twenty-second, the unsurpassably beautiful valley 
of Monterey broke upon our sight, lying in the lap 
of the mountains watered by numerous sparkling 
streams, smiling with verdure, dotted with rustic 
habitations, herds of cattle, droves of sheep and 
horses, and waving fields of maize and cane. Sur- 
rounded as this panorama is by the loftiest mountains 
I ever beheld, it certainly presented a combination of 
beauty and sublimity such as I have never seen 
equaled. On the twenty- third we reached General 
Taylor's camp which is three miles from the city. I 
reported and then proceeded to the dty where the 
Second Division under General Worth to which the 
Fifth is attached is stationed. I soon embraced Ed- 
mund and was cordially greeted by my brother offi- 
cers. Ted is quite ruddy from the mountain air. He 
has become quite a Spaniard and is decidedly the most 
popular officer of the army with the natives. He is 
a guest, and through his influence, I am, also, of one 
of the most distinguished men of the place, a member 
of Congress and once Governor of the Province, 
Yclept Don Jesus Treato. I have been incessantly 
on duty since I arrived, and am now a member of a 
General Court Martial writing this scrawl amid the 
cross-questioning of witnesses. I have been so occu- 
pied that I haven't had time to examine the features 



68 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

of the battle field. I have, however, already seen 
enough of the strength of the place to be utterly sur- 
prised that it should ever have been carried by storm. 
. . . Various speculations are current here in regard to 
the continuance of the war, and our movements after 
the termination of the armistice. It is thought General 
Taylor will not attempt any forward movements with 
his present means. . . . 

Monterey, Mexico, 
November 2, 1846. 

. . . Our regiment with all General Worth's divi- 
sion are quartered in the town, which is situated in a 
nook of the huge mountains which lie immediately 
around it on three sides, their frowning and broken 
peaks seeming almost to hang over it. On the east 
the Saddle Mountain, so called from its striking re- 
semblance in outHne to a Mexican saddle; on the 
south the Sierra; on the west the Mitre Mountain, 
its crest from our position appearing as regularly cut 
with points as a royal crown. The scenery far sur- 
passes anything in the States, and our traveled friends 
say, anything in Europe. I wish you could gaze with 
me on one of the magnificent sunsets here. The god 
of day slowly sinking behind the cloud-capped sum- 
mits of the Sierra whose frowning cliffs are presented 
to us in the deepest shadow, their crests apparently 
supporting the sky gorgeously painted with every hue 
of the spectrum, while the deep lateral gorges of the 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 69 

mountain are bathed in light long after the sun has 
disappeared from our view and we are enveloped in 
the shadows of evening. The moon here has all the 
brilliancy we boast in Florida, the climate is as soft, 
the air as pure and I judge from the tropical fruits 
growing here in luxuriance and abundance that there 
is no danger of the frosts which have rendered northern 
Florida almost a waste. We have exposed in the 
markets here the fruits and productions of all cKmes. 
From the mountain heights the apple, pear, potato, 
etc., and from the plains the orange, fig, banana, 
pomegranate, date, et idoneum genus. It truly might 
be an earthly paradise were the inhabitants civilized. 
They, alas, are lost in the most grovehng supersti- 
tion and ignorance and are under a government that 
tramples them to the dust. I trust a better day is 
about to dawn on this benighted region and that 
another generation under a better government may 
abandon their idleness and popish idolatry. The 
town is built entirely of stone, the houses mostly one 
story in height, with flat roofs, the walls very thick, 
the windows unglazed, though heavily grated with 
iron bars and at night secured with ponderous shutters. 
The doors which are of the most substantial character 
would be well suited to a state prison in our country, 
the floors are all of cement Hke the basement floors in 
St. Augustine. The narrow streets all paved are en- 
closed between lofty stone walls; the gutters which 



70 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

with us are on each side next the trottoir are here in 
the centre of the street. There are several large 
plazas or public squares — on the main one stands 
the Cathedral, a very large and fine building in the 
Moorish style. On the principal stone bridge over the 
San Juan is a large statue of the Virgin Mary, having 
around her shoulders a green cloak and on her head 
a gilded crown. All Mexican passers uncover and 
bow, perhaps kneel and pray to this image. Near the 
bridge was much of the slaughter in the late action. 
The walls of many of the houses are thickly marked 
with shot, — the one in which I am now writing had 
the projecting gratings torn from the windows by 
cannon balls and in every direction may be perceived 
the traces of recent battle. 

On the west of the town, crowning the summits of 
the lower mountains, are the forts and the Bishop's 
palace (Obispado), so gallantly carried by our divi- 
sion under General Worth. The Bishop's palace in 
the distance realizes all I have read and seen in pic- 
tures of the old castles of Europe, now standing in 
ruins, monuments of the feudal ages. I have been so 
much occupied since my arrival that I have not had 
time closely to examine this interesting work or the 
many ruins which surround the place and prove that 
its prosperity has been long on the decline. 

There is not a broken arch or fallen column which 
does not interest me. I would like to explore every 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 71 

ruin and trace in the fragments and shattered sculp- 
ture the history of a fallen people, the descendants of 
the proud and magnificent Spaniards. I mentioned 
in my last that Captain Ridgely, after gaining a 
brilliant reputation in the recent battles, was thrown 
from his horse about noon on the twenty-fourth, and 
died on the twenty-seventh. How shocking after all 
the dangers he has passed through to die so miserable 
a death ! Major Lear died of his wounds on the thirty- 
first, and was buried yesterday with all the honors. . . . 
A thousand conjectures are afloat about our future 
movements, but they are only conjectures. It seems 
certain that Tampico will be attacked after the termi- 
nation of the armistice. We hear that Santa Anna 
is assembling an army of thirty thousand men at San 
Luis Potosi where, should we advance, the Mexicans 
will make a desperate stand. I think, however, that 
we shall never go there. It is three hundred miles 
beyond Saltillo, at least one hundred of which is a 
perfect desert without wood or water. The route 
would be utterly impracticable for an army. I know 
from General Taylor that he will not attempt it unless 
compelled to do so by a positive order from the highest 
authority. It is supposed by some that the truce 
will be continued until the meeting of the Mexican 
Congress in December to give them an opportunity 
to make peace, but nothing definite can be known 
until the return of the express from Washington with 



72 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

instructions consequent upon the capture of this 
place. The Cabinet will, of course, brood in solemn 
consultation before they decide and then will probably 
determine upon something far different from what we 
expect. General Wool has been heard from with his 
division at Monclova to the northwest of our position 
and about ninety miles from Saltillo. I can tell you 
nothing of the battle which you wiU not have learned 
from the papers. The Fifth, you will see, bore a dis- 
tinguished part and have been honorably mentioned. 
I shall never cease to regret my absence. Such an 
opportunity occurs but once in a lifetime ! . . . 

Uncle Edmund ^ was eight hours under fire in 
General Taylor's staff. The invitation he received 
from the General in the morning was: " Get up, 
Kirby, and come with me and I will give you a chance 
to be shot." . . . 

Monterey, Mexico, 
November 8, 1846. 

Two or three days ago I rode with Uncle Edmund 
and a small party to the Bishop's palace of which I 
have spoken to you in a former letter. It was a glori- 
ous evening, as all are here, about an hour before 
sunset as we galloped our horses out of the western 
extremity of the city, our gay chat frequently inter- 
rupted by one or another pointing to the spot where 
some gallant spirit took its flight in the battle. After 

1 Colonel Edmund Kirby, Paymaster, U.S.A., on General Taylor's 
staff. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 73 

passing the suburbs we immediately struck the base 
of the hill upon which the ruined palace stands and 
ascended it by a winding road scarped from the rock 
and quite practicable for carriages. A near approach 
to this venerable work enabled us to see the elaborate 
carvings of its broad front which is entirely covered 
with them. Immediately over the main entrance is 
a deeply sculptured coat of arms, — I am not deep 
enough in heraldic lore to blazon it, — above it a stone 
statue of our Saviour standing in a niche supporting 
the Cross, with a carved radiation or glory around His 
head. The walls are many feet in height crowned 
with battlements and lofty turrets. In the centre of 
this spacious building is a square court containing a 
huge deep well some twelve feet in diameter. It is 
now dry but was once filled to within thirty feet of 
the surface. The grounds about the palace were 
irrigated from this well formerly, the hill on each side 
having been terraced and carefully cultivated from 
the summit to the plain below. Not a vestige of these 
gardens is perceptible now, the rains during the lapse 
of many years having washed away the earth, exposing 
the bare rock. . . . The ruined state of this massive 
construction, it having been long unfit for human 
habitation, proves its great antiquity. It must have 
been already crumbUng to decay when it was first 
occupied as a military work in 1782. From the back 
of the palace the ridge of the hill continues to rise for 



74 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

some two hundred yards, where it suddenly breaks 
ofif in a steep rocky declivity to the valley between it 
and the Mitre Mountain. Here previous to the cap- 
ture was a Mexican sand bag battery, now removed, 
and in its place are the graves of two of the heroes 
who fell in taking it on the twenty-second ultimo, 
Captain Gillespie and another Texan volunteer. From 
this point nearly six hundred feet above the plain I 
gazed at the varied and magnificent view in silent 
admiration. I wish I could describe it in any language 
which would convey even a faint ;dea of the thrilKng 
effect it had upon me. 

It was just at the close of day, the sun having al- 
ready disappeared behind the crest of the mountains 
crowned with fleecy clouds high above our heads. 
The glorious Hght was still streaming through the 
craggy ravine where winds the broad road to Saltillo. 
The San Juan here a mountain torrent was visible by 
its side for a long distance, its clear waters foaming 
and sparkling in the horizontal rays like dancing 
diamonds. Below as to the east lay the city, every 
street and plaza in full view, its white walls and battle- 
ments glancing through the green foliage in which the 
whole town is embowered, and beyond for a back- 
ground to this lovely picture was the mighty Saddle 
Mountain. Immediately below our feet was the rich 
valley of Monterey stretching far away to the north 
chequered with waving fields of corn and cane, dotted 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 75 

with hamlets, cut by numerous rivulets and irrigating 
canals, General Taylor's encampment appearing under 
the lofty trees at Walnut Springs with the light artil- 
lery on evening drill, their guns rapidly firing, each 
discharge echoing from the mountains with many 
reverberations. My companions who were them- 
selves in the engagements pointed me to the places 
where fell the immortal heroes of those three days of 
conflict. There under that sycamore fell the gallant 
Morris, there the chivalric Barbour, by the side of 
that ruined wall, the fearless Watson, near by Lear 
received his last wound, in that ravine, McKavett 
was cut in twain by a twelve-pound shot, and far on 
our right cresting the summit of that craggy hill were 
the ruins of that fort so desperately carried at the 
point of the bayonet by the Fifth, and from whose 
walls our regimental banner was displayed, the first 
American flag which waved over a Mexican work on 
those memorable days. How tame and prohx is my 
description of a scene which I can never forget ! . . . 
Continued, Monday, November 10. Saturday the 
same party whom I accompanied to the Bishop's 
palace proceeded on an exploring excursion into the 
country. We rode over the plain through enclosed 
fields about five miles to a rude Mexican village 
at the base of a mountain. Here we found the 
" Cahente," a famous hot spring of which we were in 
search. A stone house containing a few benches has 



76 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

been erected near it for a dressing-room for the bathers. 
From it, by a few stone steps, we enter a basin some 
twenty feet square enclosed by a high wall of masonry 
containing the water as clear as crystal about four 
feet in depth. On plunging into the water I found it 
to my astonishment so hot that I couldn't bear it at 
first without considerable pain. Where it gushes from 
the earth it is almost scalding hot. It must be heated 
by internal fires far away in the bosom of the earth. 
The water is slightly mineral containing some sulphur 
and nitre, and is said to be extremely good for cutane- 
ous diseases. 

Yesterday we were notified that the second divi- 
sion under General Worth were to start for Saltillo on 
Thursday morning, and we are all now in the bustle 
of preparation. We are to be joined by the first 
regiment of Kentucky volunteers under my old 
friend Tim McKee, and the Seventh Infantry are to 
be left here. We shall probably garrison Saltillo for 
the winter, though everything is very uncertain. As 
we are not told what is to be done conjectures are 
various. One that we, General Worth's division, are 
to be joined by General Wool's command and after 
the fall of Tampico, which is to be taken by the other 
wing of the army under Generals Taylor and Patter- 
son, are to meet them at San Luis Potosi, and together 
secure Santa Anna's other leg ! I would much prefer 
to have gone to Tampico, where I think will be the 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 77 

first fighting and where we could hear frequently from 
the United States. There are some advantages, how- 
ever, in the Saltillo station. It is in a high moun- 
tainous country where there is no fear of bilious or of 
yellow fever. . . . There is a report, credited by the 
most intelligent Mexicans here, that Santa Anna has 
ordered Tampico to be abandoned and that he will 
attempt no opposition to us, until we are farther in 
the interior when he expects to use us up as the 
Russians did Napoleon — all but the frost and snow. 
... I saw General Taylor last evening. He is going 
with us to Saltillo and will start the other column 
when he returns. It is late and I must close as I have 
to be stirring at daylight. . . . 

Saltillo, 
November 23, 1846. 

. . . This is a larger town than Monterey, contain- 
ing fourteen thousand inhabitants, but is not so well 
built, except in the central part. The building ma- 
terial is clay formed into square blocks and hard- 
ened in the sun. The Cathedral is a gorgeous affair, 
the altarpiece is more than thirty feet in height by 
twenty-five in breadth, and is composed of pillars, 
wreaths, mouldings, etc., heavily gilded. It contains 
nine niches in each of which is a statue as large as 
life, the central and upper one being the Virgin. 
There are some thirty statues in this church and some 
fine paintings. The image of our Saviour is repeated 



78 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

in every part of it. In one place he is represented as 
just dead, most magnificently laid out in a glass case; 
his countenance is truly lovely, with a fine black 
moustache, his head bound with a silk fillet. Im- 
mediately above him is a statue of the Mother with 
the Child in her arms. She is represented as a most 
lovely woman elegantly arrayed in richly ornamented 
white satin robes, which are sustained by an angel. 
Her whole person is covered with spangles, chains, 
and jewels. Opposite this is a thrilling Crucifixion, 
the wound in the side bleeding, the arms and legs 
gashed, and the pallid countenance expressing the 
last agonies of death. The religion of the inhabitants 
is a mixture of the Roman Catholic and the super- 
stitions of paganism. They are awfully addicted to 
ringing bells. Every church and chapel tower holds 
several of great size. They are strongly alloyed with 
silver and their tones are louder and finer than any I 
have ever heard in the United States. " From morn 
to dewy eve " 'tis clang, clang, bang, bang, ding dong. 
At stated periods of the day, at certain signals from 
some old monster bell all the people, no matter how 
engaged, at work or at play, in the street or in the 
house, uncover rapidly, cross themselves and mutter 
a prayer. This universal reverence to the Deity of all 
the people at the same time strikes the stranger as a 
beautiful and almost sublime custom, and is strongly 
contrasted with our manner, for whatever may be 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 79 

our sentiments we make no outward show of religious 
feeling. It is painful to know that these people 
actually do not comprehend the reason of their acts. 
I asked a man why he took off his hat and crossed 
himself. He rephed: " Because it is twelve o'clock." 
Another probably would say: "Because the priest 
told me to do so." This town is built so high up among 
the mountains that the climate is quite cold notwith- 
standing its southern latitude. The apple and pear 
grow to perfection and wheat is the staple. The great 
want is wood. Its scarcity renders the country almost 
uninhabitable. We can't obtain enough to cook with 
properly, and what we do get is in sticks not larger 
than my arm, brought many miles on jackasses. One 
of the principal productions of the country is the aloe, 
agave, maguey or century plant, it being known by 
each of these names. From it the " pulque " a fer- 
mented and exceedingly intoxicating drink is made. 
The plant is cultivated with great care and grows to 
an enormous size, the tall flower shafts shooting up 
often thirty feet. The centre shaft is drawn out, leav- 
ing a bowl which fills three times a day with juice 
which when fermented resembles buttermilk, bearing 
on its surface a froth like that on a pail of milk just 
drawn from the cow. It has an acid unpleasant taste 
much relished by the natives. The plant after a few 
days is suffered to rest when it throws out another 
central shoot. It is tapped three times a year. 



8o TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Our regiment is quartered in an old Franciscan 
monastery with a large chapel attached to it. It is 
filled with evidences of the gross superstition of the 
people. A fat, old, licentious-looking friar wanders 
about, sole representative of his departed brethren. 
My quarters are in an apothecary's shop with its 
shelves, labeled boxes and counter all remaining. The 

counter serves for a bunk for N and myself, 

while M occupies the counting-room. In spite 

of all the scrubbing I have bestowed upon it, the 
place smells vilely of pills, rancid lard, etc., and be- 
sides is a good stand for fleas, which are about the 
size of small crickets. 

We are quite as much in the dark here with regard 
to the probable movements of the army as you can be. 
We are stationed on the salient point of our conquest, 
less than two thousand strong, entirely inactive, and 
so far as we know there are no troops of the enemy 
within two hundred miles of us. Santa Anna is re- 
cruiting, drilling, and equipping an army at San Luis 
Potosi already thirty thousand strong. He is casting 
all the church bells into cannon — I wish he had those 
that are deafening me at this moment — and says he 
will redeem the honor of the Mexican arms if we will 
pay him a visit at San Luis. He well knows it is al- 
most impossible for an army drawing its supplies 
from the rear to march upon that place. . . , The 
intelKgent portion of the Mexican population are of 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 8i 

the opinion, and express it to us without reserve, that 

the war is wicked and aggressive on the part of the 

United States. They claim that Texas never extended 

farther than the Nueces, and say that it would have 

been yielded to that river without opposition. The 

inhabitants generally have not suffered by the war, 

but on the contrary have profited by it, while the 

army, it is said, are strong advocates for negotiation. 

If this war is to be protracted by the obstinacy of this 

people, I hope and expect to see the City of Mexico 

in another twelve months. . . . 

Saltillo, 
December i6, 1846. 

. . . There is very little of interest to write of from 
this place, where we are probably stationed for some 
months, with no prospect of another action until the 
rainy season, when armies can march without dying 
of thirst. We do not expect peace, although as the 
Mexican Congress is now in session the question must 
soon be settled. It is perfectly healthy here, the nights 
quite cold. . . . Some of the customs of these people 
seem very strange. Their funeral ceremonies are at 
least remarkable. A few days since I observed a 
funeral procession with the body laid upon the bier, 
decorated with ostrich plumes, wax candles, etc., and 
in front of it were three fiddlers playing away as hard 
as they could scrape. Upon inquiring of Don Luis, 
a Mexican merchant, what it meant, he said they were 



82 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Penablas. The Penablas are the remnant of an Indian 
tribe who occupy a portion of the city by themselves. 
They are ciNdlized and a stranger would find it very 
difficult to distinguish them from the !Mexicans. A 
few days ago I saw a woman, poor superstitious crea- 
ture, going on her knees with a lighted candle in her 
hand. She crawled across the plaza and down a paved 
street in this way as far as I could see. It was un- 
doubtedly a penance ordered by the padre. 

Cock lighting is quite the rage among these semi- 
barbarians. Yesterday I rode into a cock pit, and you 
may imagine my astonishment when I beheld the old 
priest presiding, receiving the bets, and heeling the 
chickens, as putting on the iron spurs or slashers is 
technically called. I am told that this is nothing un- 
common, that on any Sunday afternoon I may find 
them thus engaged. 

I wish you could take a peep into my quarters. I 
have mentioned in a pre\'ious letter that I Uve in a 
store attached to the house of a very respectable man, 
Don Ramoon Flores, once Governor of the Depart- 
ment. N— — sleeps on one end of the counter and 

on the other I lay my bones at night. M Hves 

in the counting-room where also we set our table. 
Senor Flores is very polite and occasionally sends us 
a nice dish from his table, a bowl of deUcious preserved 
grapes, or some excellent quince jam. The old gentle- 
man is now absent at his hacienda, distant about 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 83 

thirty leagues. He has gone for his wife and daughters, 
who were sent there on the approach of our army. 
He has found that we treat them kindly, " the big 
scare " is over and he is not afraid to bring the young 
ladies back. He will probably return in four or five 
days, when, as I am quite a favorite, I intend seeing 
something of ladies' society here, which I haven't yet 
had an opportunity to do. It is almost certain now 
that General Taylor will make this his headquarters. 
. . . The General is now gone to Victoria where he 
will leave a strong force. General Wool is at Parras, 
ninety-two miles to the west with two thousand men. 
Lieutenant Franklin came in from that place yester- 
day and says they expect to be attacked there before 
long. (I don't beUeve they will.) The old year is fast 
passing. In twenty days it will have yielded its place 
to forty-seven ! . . . 

STEAiTBOAT " ROUGH AND ReADY," 

Just Below the Mouth of the San Juan, 
January 22, 1847. 

On the morning of the eighth we but Httle dreamed 
of being ordered to leave Saltillo, where you have 
learned from my letters we were pleasantly quartered. 
I certainly was nearly domesticated in the family of 
Don Ramoon Flores. After dinner I had lain down 
upon my counter to take a siesta and had hardly com- 
posed myself, when to my surprise my friend, Lieu- 
tenant A of the Dragoons, roused me with the 



84 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

cry: " Up! you will be on the march in an hour." 
He had just arrived from Camargo with dispatches 
from General Scott, and though his lips were sealed 
by the General's orders, I heard enough to convince 
me we were to go to the coast. Major Staniford 
came to my quarters immediately after, briefly order- 
ing before he put spurs to his horse: "Have your 
company ready to march in thirty minutes." Our 
preparations were soon made, and I left Saltillo where 
I had been almost two months, with more regret than 
I should any other place where I have been in Mexico. 
The inhabitants had rapidly gained confidence in the 
regulars and were much alarmed when they found we 
were about leaving them to the mercy of the volun- 
teers, of whom they have the utmost dread, and by 
whom they are generally treated with the utmost 
barbarity. I have kept a sort of diary since I left the 
city of fountains, and although it contains nothing 
of much interest, I will transcribe it for you. 

January g. Our regiment under Major Staniford 
left Saltillo about one in the afternoon, preceded by 
the artillery battalion under Brevet Lieutenant- 
Colonel Childs, which started at seven in the morning 
with Duncan's light artillery. Three companies of 
the Sixth Infantry were encamped five miles from 
town. We passed them and bivouacked after dark 
on a creek thirteen miles from the city. This stream 
with other rivulets rises in the springs around Saltillo 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 85 

forming the head waters of the San Juan. The night 
was dark, the clouds threatened rain, which fell before 
morning in torrents, — the first shower in two months. 
Many of the officers, relying on the uniform dryness 
of the weather, neglected to pitch their tents. I, how- 
ever, believing that everything in Mexico is deceptive, 
pitched mine in which Lieutenants Rossell, Farelly, 
and myself spread our blankets, and would have slept 
comfortably if Butler's volunteers had not made so 
much noise that the poppy god took flight till after 
midnight. Reveille was beaten before four o'clock, 
but at a still earlier hour the rain drove several of my 
brother officers to my tent for shelter, and their com- 
plaints and jokes broke my rest for the residue of the 
night. They were " dimnition, damp, cold, disagree- 
able bodies," and my liquor case suffered a fearful 
diminution in warming up their shivering clay. 

January 10. At six, though still dark, we began 
our march and at ten in the morning reached the Httle 
village of Los Muertes. This small town which, when 
we passed before, was filled with smiling inhabitants, 
now presented a sad picture of the desolation produced 
by war. The people were all gone, not one left, driven 
off by the volunteers, the houses in ruins, the shade 
trees girdled or cut down, and the ground strewed by 
the carcasses of dead horses and mules. It was a dark, 
drizzling day and was altogether a sad, desolate scene. 
The little river was alone unchanged. Its clear waters 



86 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

rippled over their gravelly bed with the same cheerful 
sound. At half-past eleven we arrived at the famous 
pass of Los Muertes — the dividing line between the 
Departments of Coahuilla and New Leon. At one 
we encamped at Riconada. Here two months ago 
was a beautiful village, but all is now as at Los Muertes 
marked by the desolating hand of war. It rained 
nearly all the afternoon but we had plenty of wood, 
a rare thing in Mexico, and our bright blazing camp 
fires soon made us all comparatively comfortable. 
The three companies of the Sixth overtook us here, 
and the artillery battalions are but a short distance 
in advance. I find my pony's back very sore, and 
shall be compelled to foot it tomorrow. . . . 

January ii. Struck our tents and marched at 
six. It was a cold day, the ground frozen for ten 
miles. General Worth overtook us at twelve, and we 
encamped four miles from Monterey at three o'clock, 
having marched a distance estimated at twenty- 
six miles. A very fatiguing day, most of the men 
footsore. The Second Dragoons passed us about 
five o'clock. 

January 12. We were en route by break of day, 
preceded by the artillery battalion which we passed 
last evening. Our road was not only interesting from 
the sublime scenery on either hand, but it passed 
directly through the battle fields of the twenty-first, 
twenty-second, and twenty- third of September, leav- 
ing Fort Soldado which was carried by the Fifth at 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 87 

the point of the bayonet on our right, and the Bishop's 
palace in the storming of which they assisted on the 
left. As I marched over this ground on the flank of 
my company I was struck by the remarks of the old 
soldiers as they pointed out to the recruits the places 
where remarkable events had occurred during the 
battles. Passed through Monterey and halted at 
Walnut Springs about eleven in the morning. Since 
we left for Saltillo, the burial places of those who fell 
at the storming of Monterey have been handsomely 
enclosed in walls of cut stone surrounding an area of a 
few rods. There are two of them, in one are the ofii- 
cers, in the other lie the bones of the enlisted men. 
Each has in the centre of the front wall a square 
column surmounted by a heavy cross. Here is also 
a cross at the head of each grave on which the name 
of the occupant is rudely carved. After a short halt 
at Walnut Springs we proceeded on our march and 
encamped near the village of San Francisco, having 
made thirteen miles. 

January 13. Crossed the San Juan two miles from 
Marina which town we passed at twelve noon, and 
encamped at a small stream, Agua Negra, the entire 
distance variously estimated from eighteen to twenty- 
two miles. The day was hot and much detention arose 
from bad places in the road at one of which the staff 
wagon was upset. 

January 14. Our march began at the usual hour, 
we passed Ramos and encamped before twelve noon 



88 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

on a small brook near Papa Gallos, having made but 
nine miles. We were halted thus early because we 
heard that the streams and springs were dry, so that 
the first water we shall find is twenty miles from this 
place. 

January 15. Marched two hours before sunrise. 
Twelve miles from our starting place we crossed the 
Arroyo Mujares (Woman's Creek) where two months 
since there was a fine spring and plenty of water, but 
we found it dry and toiled on six miles farther to 
Carrista before we found any good water. The weather 
oppressively hot, the road dusty and very rough. In 
the morning the Sixth Infantry overtook us and I 
was surprised to see Adam Miller, a drummer in one 
of the companies. I discharged him in June with 
more than two hundred dollars in his possession and 
started him for home (Rochester). He spent his 
money and re-enlisted, the fool ! We reached our 
camp at Cerralvo about four o'clock, having marched 
twenty-five miles. . . . Cerralvo is a beautiful Mexi- 
can town on a clear swift stream which finds its source 
in some large springs about a mile distant. Near are 
some rich old silver mines which have not been worked 
recently. We, however, saw signs in the mountains 
which convinced us that the miners have begun their 
labors again. 

January 16. Left Cerralvo before sunrise, marched 
twelve miles to Punta Aguada, the headquarters of 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 89 

the famous Ranchero chief, Canales. The town con- 
tained several hundred inhabitants before the war, 
but they have all been driven off by the volunteers. 
It is situated on a small stream which is crossed 
at our encampment by a dam beautifully built of 
cut stone and Roman cement. The entire division 
encamps together tonight. 

January //. Left camp at half-past five and were 
halted before twelve on the same stream at which we 
encamped last night, having marched sixteen miles. 
This stream at Punta Aguada is called Agua Largo 
and is the Alamo on which stands Mier, near its junc- 
tion with the Rio Grande. Next day we marched 
through Mier and encamped five miles beyond on the 
banks of the Rio Grande. We heard today, January 
18, that we were to descend the river from Camargo 
in boats and I hope it may prove true. Mier is the 
scene of the famous Texan battle, I believe the only 
one on record in which a victorious army surrendered 
to the vanquished, in the moment of success, which 
was actually the case on the occasion to which I 
allude. I have just taken a refreshing bath in the 
river and feel hke a new man. I picked from the 
margin a beautiful little daisy in blossom. . . . Our 
encampment is near an extensive hacienda. When 
we passed before there were evidences of more virtue 
and comfort than is usual in a Mexican settlement. 
Now their houses and fences are broken, their cattle 



90 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

and flocks destroyed by the troops who have passed, 
and an old man has just told me that to complete 
their misery, the Comanches recently assailed them 
taking what Uttle they had left, and carrying off some 
of their women and children into endless captivity. 
Before morning, January 19, we had a regular norther. 
The wind pierced us to the very marrow but notwith- 
standing the weather our reveille was beaten at half- 
past two and we broke up our encampment and 
marched before five. The morning was as dark as 
possible, and how we got along over our wild path 
for more than an hour, I cannot tell, for actually a 
man couldn't see his file leader. We, however, 
stumbled along until after daybreak, blindly groping 
our way through the drifting sand. We reached 
Camargo about eleven in the morning and made our 
encampment on the barren, dusty plain amid the filth 
and dust of the old camping grounds. We have made 
a remarkable march. It will not be ten days until 
one o'clock since we left Saltillo, two hundred miles 
distant. Why has this rapid march been made ? is the 
question in every one's mouth. No one knows, but 
all believe that an army is rapidly concentrating at 
the mouth of the river, which with the troops at 
Tampico under General Scott are to attempt the 
capture of San Juan D'Ulloa. Our camp is the most 
watched place imaginable, the storm continues un- 
abated and the j61thy debris of numerous previous 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 91 

camps ground to dust is whirling about us; it is really 
insupportable ! I wish I was " to hum." 

January 20 and 21 . We are still lying in camp wait- 
ing for a boat to take us down the river. The last 
artillery battalion and Marcy's company of our regi- 
ment have embarked this evening. The talk is all of 
peace in camp this evening. It is said the Mexican 
Congress are disposed to accept our terms, and General 
Scott before he left said that if a peace was concluded, 
the Fifth would go back to their old Lake Stations. 
I place but Httle faith in any of it — it promises too 
much happiness to be true. 

January 22. At reveille we found our boat, the 
" Rough and Ready," had arrived and we prepared 
to embark. At two in the afternoon we were paddhng 
down stream all congratulating ourselves on our good 
quarters and on our escape from Camargo, certainly 
the most filthy and disgusting place on this dirty 
earth. The twenty-third and twenty-fourth we still 
continued down the river with no incidents of im- 
portance, often bringing up with a terrible crash on a 
sand bar or bumping our nose in some short turn 
against the shore. This evening as usual we tied up 
at a wood yard where we remain until morning. 
There is an extensive hacienda at this place, and the 
young officers collected the Seiioras for a ball. The 
dance continued until eleven o'clock. We reached 
Matamoras January 25 about three o'clock. . . . We 



92 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

are all anxious to hear what Congress are doing, 
hoping they will pass the bill for a " retired " Hst for 
" worn out " officers and that they will not pass the 
bill increasing the number of regiments, as a reduc- 
tion must follow a peace. We are lying by, a few 
miles from the spot selected for our encampment, 
which is about forty miles by water from the mouth. 
The river is exceedingly crooked, in one place after 
having gone sixty miles you are only three miles from 
the starting point. The entire distance from Camargo 
to the mouth is estimated at four hundred and fifty 
miles by water, while by land it is less than two hun- 
dred. Tonight all doubt as to our destination is 
removed — we are to go to Vera Cruz. 

January 26. I feel very much indisposed to write 
even the few lines required for my diary. An ugly 
norther is blowing and I am tired and sick, my tent 
is cold and it is half-past ten at night. If, however, 
I suffer myself to neglect my diary once, I should soon 
give it up entirely. We got up steam and ran down 
to our camping ground, landed at eight in the morn- 
ing, and made our camp on the left of the Fourth 
Infantry, the artillery battalion on the extreme right 
and the Sixth and Eighth Infantry will encamp on 
our left when they arrive. We found a mail for us 
here. . . . We hear of the probable passage of several 
army bills, such as the Retired List, Extra Major, 
Increase by Ten Regiments, etc., and all are now 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 93 

speculating upon the promotions, but nothing can 
be determined until we see the laws. My friends here 
are of the opinion that both Marcy and myself will 
be brevetted. I will not, however, permit myself to 
form any expectations which may result in disap- 
pointment. We shall probably remain here some two 
or three weeks, and I trust shall hear something 
definite before we embark for our campaign at Vera 
Cruz. 

Our ground here is admirably adapted for an en- 
campment. It is a plain on the United States side of 
the river, covered by a short close grass and there's 
an abundance of wood. 

Camp Palo Alto, 

January 27, 1847. 

Our camp takes its name from the battle field which 
is but a few miles distant. Near us was the first 
pitched battle of the war; when, and where, will be 
the last ? Quien sahe ? The better we have become 
acquainted with the people and the Mexican character, 
the more assured we all feel that the course pursued 
by our government is only calculated to protract the 
war. Proud, overbearing, ignorant, superstitious, and 
cruel in the extreme in their own wars, they do not in 
the least comprehend our temporizing forbearance. 
If, from the moment of invasion, instead of paying 
them two prices for everything our army wanted, we 
had laid waste their country, taking their horses, 



94 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

mules, herds, and crops, as they might have been 
required, leaving the sufferers to seek indemnification 
from their own government; if, instead of extend- 
ing kindness and protection to the inhabitants, we 
had carried fire and sword into the heart of their 
country; if, instead of sending commissioners to treat 
asking for peace, and offering millions to make it, 
we had done all in our power to distress and harass 
them, treating them as a nation with contempt, they 
would not have thought as they now do, that we 
feared them; that the Whig party in our country 
were opposing the war, and about to leave the Execu- 
tive without the means to prosecute it. They would 
have felt that they had no hope but in the successful 
operations of a campaign opposed to the entire 
strength of the United States. What their prospects 
would have been in such a case, their leaders and 
statesmen well know, and I beheve that peace on 
advantageous terms would have been offered. Now 
we must fight it out with but Httle hope of a termina- 
tion of the struggle in many years. ... A few words 
in apology for my journal. It has been written from 
day to day with a stump of a pencil, often on my knee 
in my tent at night after a fatiguing march, when I 
was cold, weary and disgusted with everything in 
this miserable world. There is scarcely a line of 
interest in it. However, I send it knowing that you 
will value it though it is unfit for any other eye, — 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 95 

but perhaps at some future day it will serve to recall 
scenes to my mind which otherwise would be forgotten. 
Do not let your partiality induce you to believe it is 
fit for general perusal. . . . 

[Fragments from the continuation of the journal up to 
February i.] 

I am on a General Court Martial for the trial of 

Lieutenant A and such other prisoners as may 

be brought before it. The court sits without regard 
to hours, everything being ordered to be dispatched 
rapidly to get the division ready to embark for parts 
unknown. ... In court today from nine o'clock in 
the morning until five in the afternoon. . . . Orders 
were received today (January 31) from General Scott 
for the division to embark as soon as practicable 
on the transports. The fleet under convoy to as- 
semble under the lea of the Island of Lobos. I do 
not know its position with any certainty, but am told 
it is about one hundred miles to the north of Vera 
Cruz. 

February i. Lieutenant Ritchie of our regiment, 
it is reported, has been cut off by the enemy. He 
was bearing dispatches from General Scott to Gen- 
eral Taylor, and was lassoed. Thus all the plans 
of the campaign have been obtained by the enemy. 
The first command under Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel 
Childs was ordered to Brasos last evening to embark. 
They are for special service. The mail arrived today 



96 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

and we hear that the Army Bill has passed extra 
majors and all excluding the lieutenant-general ! 
Our prospects in the army, I think, grow more gloomy 
every day. Not only does peace seem to be more 
distant, but when it does come we are in danger of 
being disbanded. I almost envy the old and disabled 
officers, and sometimes almost wish that a respectable 
wound would enable me to quit the field. I should 
like to spend the remnant of my days in the bosom of 
my beloved family, in the quiet of some neat country 
place raising my own cabbages a la Van Buren ! 
What a picture my fancy paints, never, alas, to be 
reaHzed ! I must still go on in my thankless and 
perilous profession. I ought not, however, to com- 
plain. For twenty years I have worn the sword with- 
out facing an enemy. A few years of war will only 
fit me for a respectable old age, or put to rest my 
unquiet spirit forever. 

February j. The rest of the Eighth Infantry 
arrived this morning so that the entire division is 
now ready to embark. This afternoon a violent north 
wind has been blowing and it is growing cold very fast. 
It will be almost insupportable before morning. We 
cannot embark till the wind moderates. I am field 
officer of the day, and am shivering in my tent over 
a pan of coals, having to sit up this cheerless night, 
at least until a late hour. I have just visited the long 
chain of sentinels around this camp. The night is 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 97 

gloomy and nothing breaks the silence of the sleeping 
army but the wolves which are howling in the im- 
mediate neighborhood. . . . 

February 4. We are still lying in Camp Palo Alto 
and I see no immediate prospect of our departing. 
The weather is boisterous and it is impossible to em- 
bark on this coast except in a calm. There is no har- 
bor and it is at all times a difficult and dangerous 
operation for vessels of heavy draught. The large 
transports are anchored in the offing and the troops 
and baggage are necessarily put on board by small 
steamers. The coast is straight, the shore gradually 
shelves off to deep water and in the most quiet times 
there is a heavy ground swell. There is a report in 
camp today, which from its source is entitled to some 
credit, that a detachment of eighty volunteers with 
Cassius M. Clay and two majors, whose names I do 
not know, has been captured near Saltillo. . . . 

February 5. The Eighth Infantry left for the mouth 
of the river this morning. My old friend, Colonel N. 
S. Clarke, has joined his regiment and assumed com- 
mand of the camp. We are informed by an order that 
but Kttle transportation will be furnished after leaving 
the vessels so that we must reduce our baggage to the 
minimum. The design e\'idently is to push us lightly 
equipped and in the most rapid manner in pursuit of 
the enemy, in the hope of finding him unprepared, — 
a vain expectation in my opinion. I believe Santa 



98 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Anna knows well what we are doing, and I shall be 
agreeably surprised if we do not meet a large army in 
the neighborhood of Vera Cruz. Neither do I believe 
San Juan or the city will fall without a desperate re- 
sistance, nor do I believe the Mexicans will make 
peace with us when we have taken those places. Two 
months will show. Hope and pray for the best. . . . 
There is confirmation today of the reported capture 
of C. M. Clay. The two majors were Gaines and 
Borland of the Kentucky cavalry. The disaster 
occurred at a spot called Encamacion. They were 
entirely surrounded and did not fire a gun. 

February 6. Today the report has a new phase. 
It is said that Clay and Gaines are not prisoners, — 
only Major Borland is with a much smaller party than 
at first reported. You will think I only make state- 
ments one day to contradict them the next, but Dame 
Rumor leads us astray and I only record each night 
what I believe. Young Ritchie of our regiment, 
whose sad fate I have mentioned, was a most amiable 
youth. The particulars of his death have reached us 
today. With his escort of Dragoons he arrived at a 
small place called Villa Rosa, halted his party in the 
skirt of the \dllage, and alone (dreadful imprudence) 
went in for refreshments. After supping, he left the 
house and had proceeded but a few steps when a lasso 
was thrown over his head, he was drawTi into a yard 
and killed with his own sword. His body was found 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 99 

a day or two after by Captain Graham of the Dra- 
goons. . . . 

February 8. The Fourth Infantry under Colonel 
Garland left here this morning and will probably em- 
bark at Brasos tomorrow. We have not been notified 
who will go next, — if it is our regiment we shall 
leave early in the morning as we hear several ships 
are now in the ofling. General Scott has been much 
annoyed at the delay. The vessels ought all to have 
been here more than a fortnight ago. Such an error 
may possibly defeat the entire object of the expedi- 
tion, be it what it may, for none of us know with 
certainty, though it is evident that dispatch and sur- 
prise are among its principal elements. The weather 
is now delightfully warm, Merrill and I took a fine 
swim in the river before dinner. Can you realize 
amid your frost and snow that I am bathing without 
discomfort in the Rio Grande ? . . . Nearly three 
weeks delay here must be enough to madden General 
Scott. Corporal Riley of my company lost his young- 
est cliild this morning, about a year old. I went to 
his tent before noon and found the mother, an ex- 
cellent httle woman whom he married at Dearborn 
Arsenal, sitting with her dead baby in her lap, the 
tears quietly dropping on its face. ... A ridiculous 
story is in the Matamoras Flag of today that 
Santa Anna and Arista have had a quarrel in which 
Santa Anna was killed. I mention it as it will be 



loo TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

quoted in the newspapers. It is undoubtedly all 
" buncombe," . . . We have just heard that a trans- 
port having on board four companies of Louisiana 
volunteers has been wrecked below Tampico. It is 
feared that they have been taken prisoners and Colonel 
De Renssy with them. Thus this expedition has be- 
gun in delay and disaster. I trust it is no type of its 
ending. . . . 

Fehruury 14. The order to embark came this eve- 
ning. Our heavy baggage is on board the boat which 
will take us to the mouth of the river, our camp 
breaks up at daylight. As we are the last detachment 
we shall probably get on board our transport by day 
after tomorrow, and proceed at once to the rendezvous 
at Lobos. . . . 

February 15. Our camp broke up at three o'clock 
this morning and in the good steamer " Rough and 
Ready " we reached this place, Boca del Rio Grande, 
at eleven in the morning. Our camp is pitched upon 
the seashore, the ever beating surf in all its beauty 
is scattering its foam over the beach within a few feet 
of my tent, while over the broad Gulf as far as the 
eye can reach are anchored vessels of every size, from 
the light schooner, with its raking masts, to the 
mighty man-of-war whose heavy spars and black hull 
are barely visible as they roll on the main far out at 
sea. About us are the tents of more than two thou- 
sand troops, light artillery, cavalry, rifles, infantry, 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT loi 

all bound for the great scene towards which we are 
looking with anxiety. 

February i6. Last night I had no idea we would 
leave Boca del Rio for twenty-four hours, but I was 
roused after a restless night at an early hour this 
morning by Major Scott's orderly, and on reporting 
to the Major I was informed that the regiment was 
to march to Brasos Santiago and that as the transport 
ship designated for the Fifth would carry but four 
hundred rank and file, the remainder were to be left 
to compose a portion of a battalion to be formed from 
the disjecta membra of the army. I declined the 
honor, and remonstrated against being detailed to 
command this portion, and Scott ^ insisted. I referred 
the matter to the next higher authority, Colonel 
Harvey, stating that if it was a higher command than 
that ordinarily bestowed upon a captain, it belonged 
to Merrill, the acting major of the regiment, and 
if less than a captain's command. Major Scott had 
no right to degrade me, that from the roster it could 
not be my detail as I was last on detached service — 
commanding the escort from Camargo to Monterey. 
It was decided in my favor, and Rossell was detailed 
for the service. We marched at two in the afternoon. 
Our route lay immediately on the beach each wave 
dashing around our ankles as we moved over the 
damp sand on the margin. We crossed Boca Chico, 
' Major Martin Scott, Fifth Infantry. 



I02 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

the strait which separates Brasos St. lago from the 
mainland, on a foot bridge carrying our baggage by 
hand and reloading in other teams on the other side. 
This was a tedious and laborious process detaining 
us two hours. The whole march was nine miles and 
we arrived at Brasos St. lago just at sunset. We are 
to embark early in the morning, if there is no norther, 
on the ship "Huron," seven hundred tons, which is an- 
chored some five or six miles seaward . We heard this eve- 
ning from Tampico Colonel De Renssy with his little 
battalion escaped from General Coz who surrounded 
him with a large force after his shipwreck. Colonel 
De Renssy held the Mexicans at bay, though the 
arms of his troops, if they had any, must have been 
unserviceable, and at night, leaving large camp fires, 
gave them the sHp arriving by a forced march safely 
at Tampico. . . . There is a report tonight that 
General Taylor has had a severe fight, the particulars 
and result not known. . . . 

Camp at Brasos St. Iago, 
February 17, 1847. 

I closed my letter yesterday just after our arrival 
at this place. After writing, I went to an oyster house 
with my second lieutenant, Farrelly, where we took 
as many of the natives as was convenient. They were 
excellent and were a real treat after the hard bread 
and pork on which we have been regaling for months. 
This morning at daylight we struck our tents and 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 103 

prepared to embark immediately. The wind rose, 
however, before the lighters were ready for us, and 
we again encamped. I was sent to Point Isabel with 
a few men to search for deserters. I had a pleasant 
sail in a small sloop, found Dr. Wood there in fine 

health, and old , bewigged and as complimentary 

as of yore, transacted my business and returned by 
two in the afternoon to Brasos. 

This large Depot is now the scene of the most utter 
confusion imaginable. Quarter-masters, wagon-mas- 
ters, wharf-masters and government agents of all 
descriptions running about as if mad, while orders 
upon orders and counter-orders are constantly issued. 
An exemplification of a scene in " Charles O'Malley." 
Enter sergeant with a large bundle of papers under 
each arm. 

Officer: What have you under your right arm ? 

Sergeant: Orders. 

Officer: And what under your left ? 

Sergeant: Counter-orders. 

February 18. The regiment got off in two steamers, 
the " Anson " and " Augusta " and before three in 
the afternoon were on board the ship " Huron," which 
was at anchor some eight miles at sea. We are all 
much disappointed in our vessel. She is much smaller 
and worse found than we anticipa,ted. She was pre- 
pared for only two hundred and eighty-eight men and 
fourteen officers, whereas four hundred men and 



I04 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

twenty-one ofl&cers have been put on board. Every- 
thing is much crowded and the accommodations 
totally inadequate. Fortunately, it is very calm, and 
we hope to get things stowed tomorrow so as to make 
all more comfortable. The ship under the command 
of Captain N. G. Weeks was got under way about 
four in the afternoon. There was a light north wind, 
and she stood upon her course south southeast for 
Lobos. Notwithstanding that the sea was smooth 
and I could not perceive that the vessel rolled at all, 
many were very sick and were " casting up their 
accounts " in a manner by no means agreeable. 

February ig. We have thus far been fanned along 
by gentle breezes. About noon the wind came ahead, 
blowing from the southeast, changing our course to 
east by north half north. Our table on board is very 
good — in every other respect we are exceedingly un- 
comfortable, much crowded, the men terribly so. I 
fear the worst consequences should we be long on 
board in this chmate. Scott, Merrill, Ruggles, Rosen- 
crantz, and some others suffer much from sea sickness. 
I, you know, am exempt from that affliction. I pass 
nearly all my time on deck reading, the captain hav- 
ing quite a supply of books. 1 am by hours the last 
at night to leave the deck; seated alone on the taffrail 
I gaze upon the beautiful moon and stars or down 
into the sparkling sea. . . . 

February 22. At six this morning, when I awoke, 
everything was pitching about, the ship rolHng at a 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 105 

terrible rate. By dead reckoning the captain esti- 
mated that we were in the latitude of Lobos. I found 
on coming on deck that we were heading west. At 
eleven in the morning the low sandy shore of Mexico 
came in view. I climbed to the masthead with the 
captain to con the shore. I am the only officer on 
board enough of a sailor to undertake this feat. I 
often go to the top to avoid the sickness and confusion 
of the deck. We lay over the fore top-gallant yard 
more than an hour, nearly one hundred feet from the 
deck, while the good ship was flying over the sea 
urged by half a gale of wind. The shore became every 
moment more distinct and soon the Island of Lobos 
appeared with its fleet of transports. We stood away 
to the south and at about noon we were about six 
miles from the Island, when from my position I could 
see that the vessels belonging to the navy were firing 
the national salute for Washington's birthday. At 
two in the afternoon we dropped our anchor among 
a large fleet of ships rolling in the heavy sea, near the 
" Massachusetts," on board of which are General 
Scott and staff. The little Isle of Lobos looks Hke a 
green speck gemming the bosom of the ocean. It is in 
fact but a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth, 
and affords but a poor lea in a norther, the only gales 
which we are Hkely to encounter here. Its beach is 
now covered with the tents of various volunteer 
regiments. 



io6 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

February 2j. This morning the weather is mild, 
the sea running down. I went on board the " Massa- 
chusetts " where I found Uncle Edmund in fine spirits 
and merry as ever. He thinks there will be no fight 
at Vera Cruz. Nous verrons. General Scott is in 
high spirits, talking in his usual vein. 

February 25. Today a sad accident happened on 
board. A block fell from masthead, knocking dovvn 
three men and mortally wounding Leach of my com- 
pany. Since one o'clock he has been insensible and 
I think will not last till morning. 

February 26. Leach died during the night and I 
was ordered to go ashore and select a spot for his 
grave, but there was such a gale blowing from llic 
north, that it was not practicable to land. All day 
the transports have been arriving, coming down be- 
fore the gale like race horses. The First, Second, and 
Seventh Infantry from Tampico are here. In the 
afternoon the wind having lulled a little, I landed with 
a small party to dig a grave, and after selecting a 
suitable spot I walked about the Island which I found 
covered, except where the volunteers had cleared it, 
with a dense growth of tropical trees and plants, most 
of which I had never seen before. The caoutchouc or 
India rubber tree grows here and is the most wonder- 
ful vegetable production I have ever seen, answering 
exactly the description of the banyan, its long heavy 
horizontal branches throwing down vertical ones 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 107 

which take root in the earth, the whole broad mass of 
branches and foliage being supported by this natural 
colonnade hke the dome of a cathedral. On my way 
back to the ship I visited many vessels in search of my 
brother and met many old friends. At last I found 
Edmund on board a Httle brig with Colonel Plympton, 
and he is now spending the evening with me on board 
ti e "Huron." He is in fine health and spirits. 

February 2j. The gale still continues. I have, 
however, been this morning on the " Massachusetts," 
and have learned that an express vessel is to leave for 
New Orleans as soon as the wind shifts. I am, there- 
fore, about to close these pages, perchance the last 
you will receive before I land at Anton Lizardo, or San 
Juan. We are confidently assured by officers of the 
navy that they can so cover our landing that we will 
receive no opposition from the Mexicans. This being 
the case, I think, although we may have a tedious siege 
and some hard work in the trenches, there is httle to 
be feared for the result. . . . We shall probably sail 
for Anton Lizardo or Sacrificio within a week. It is 
exceedingly inconvenient writing here. Not only is 
the ship crowded beyond description, but she is pitch- 
ing in a heavy sea. . . . 

Ship " Huron " off Lobos, 
February 28, 1847. 

... In my last I spoke of the little Isle of Lobos, 
which lies in latitude 21° 26'. This Uttle gem of the 



io8 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

ocean, hitherto only known to pirates and solitary- 
cruisers in the Gulf, will now have its fame widely 
blown over the United States. It is about seven miles 
from the main and has been created by the gradual 
rise of the coral reef which spreads on every side of it, 
and is near the surface to the east and west for at least 
a mile. Besides the caoutchouc tree, wild oranges, 
lemons, and limes are growing on this little spot, and 
are now opening their sweet blossoms, filling the eve- 
ning air with deUcious fragrance. Some curious speci- 
mens of coral have been collected by the volunteer 
officers encamped on the island, such as coralized 
wood, bulbous roots, lemons, and oranges, astonish- 
ingly perfect. The smallpox having broken out on 
a transport ship, the Island where the sick are placed 
has been quarantined by order of General Scott, or I 
should make search for something for a memento. . . . 
March 2. This morning with the captain of the ship 
and Lieutenant Myers I went fishing at daylight in a 
small boat. It was raining when we started but when 
the sun rose the weather cleared. We dropped our 
Uttle anchor off the breakers of the east reef in about 
twenty fathoms and prepared our lines for sport, but 
finding it necessary almost immediately to shift our 
ground, we endeavored to raise our anchor but to our 
great disappointment found it fast tangled in the 
coral. It resisted all our efforts and finally the cable 
parted and we were obliged to pull back to the ship. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 109 

. . . After breakfast we saw a signal from the main- 
mast of the " Massachusetts " for an officer and a 
boat from each ship, and an order was communicated 
to make all sail for Anton Lizardo. The wind was 
very Light and dead ahead, but the steamers on board 
which are the Generals and their staffs paddled off 
to the southeast and were soon out of sight. In the 
afternoon the wind rose, when as if by magic this large 
fleet spread their sails to the breeze and stood away 
close hauled upon the wind to the southwest. I went 
to masthead to gaze upon this glorious spectacle, one 
which few men ever see, such as J never expect to 
look upon again. . . . 

March 4. The wind shifted to the north at two 
o'clock this morning and is blowing a cracking breeze. 
We are crowding sail and are gradually passing most 
of the fleet. We are at noon eighty miles from San 
Juan. At two in the afternoon we saw the high moun- 
tains to the northwest of Vera Cruz. There were 
nineteen sail in sight all crowding on to the scene of 
action. The beautiful little Nautilus are scudding by 
us in numbers, their tiny sails hoisted and their varie- 
gated colors ghstening in the bright sun. Query ? 
Are they too going to war, or like Columbus, on a 
voyage of discovery, or thus dressed in hoUday suits 
in the service of some sea Venus ? 

March 5. This morning there was a dead calm, at 
eight a very faint breeze fanned us slowly along. 



no TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 



1 



About nine we saw the high peak of Orizaba looking 
like a point of burnished silver in the sky. Its summit 
more than three miles in height covered with eternal 
snows is the first object which meets the eye of the 
mariner as he approaches Vera Cruz. It lies between 
forty and fifty miles inland and looks as Httle Hke a 
mountain when first seen as possible, for it could not 
be distinguished from a cloud reflecting the sun did it 
not remain immovable and unchangeable in shape. I 
went to the head of the foremast, and lay over the 
fore topsail yard until in the dim distance the castle of 
San Juan and the city could be seen. Some shipping, 
probably English and French men-of-war, are lying 
at anchor in the roadstead of Sacrificios. It is eleven 
in the morning and before night we shall be at anchor 
at Anton Lizardo. We are near the scene of our 
struggle and 'tis strange that all doubt and misgiving 
seems to leave my mind as the place and time comes 
near, and though I am as Hkely to be killed in the 
coming conflict as any other — it does not so seem 
to me. A celebrated author says: "All men think 
all men mortal but themselves, themselves immortal." 
March 6. As we drew towards the anchorage at An- 
ton Lizardo yesterday we found ourselves in the midst 
of a fleet of ships and steamers. I counted over sixty 
vessels including the men-of-war (two tall ships and 
a war steamer) which are keeping up the blockade of 
the castle, their tapering spars plainly visible traced 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT iii 

on the bright blue sky. We dropped our anchor about 
four o'clock, just inside the reef which forms the har- 
bor. We were in the rear and far from our chief, 
General Worth. A steamer soon came alongside to 
take us to our proper position. She had just left the 
blockade at Vera Cruz and brought us most interest- 
ing news — Santa Anna's official report of his battle 
with General Taylor at Buena Vista. He admits 
enough to show that he has been well whipped, though 
he claims a victory, and strangely enough says he is 
about to retreat to Agua Nueva. It must have been 
a bloody and desperately contested action lasting 
through two days, the twenty-second and twenty- 
third of February. You will undoubtedly see the 
accounts from General Taylor long before we shall 
here. I am exceedingly anxious to hear from Webster,^ 
who, you know, was there. We also heard by the 
steamer that the castle of San Juan and the city are 
maimed by less than five thousand soldiers and but 
badly supplied with provisions. We shall probably 
have no difficulty in taking the place. This morning 
I called on Uncle Edmund and spoke to my brother 
as I passed his ship. They are both well and in fine 
spirits. We see occasionally a few Mexican Dragoons 
riding on the beach opposite our position. As they 
are nearly three miles off they do not appear very 

^ His brother-in-law, who survived the war, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Luden B. Webster. 



112 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

warlike. The coast shows no signs of habitation in 
our neighborhood. If the ordnance and horses were 
here, I suppose we should land immediately — they 
are constantly expected and we cannot long be 
delayed. 

This morning Generals Scott, Patterson, Worth, 
and Pillow, with their staff, went in the small steamer, 
" Secretary," captured from the Mexicans, to recon- 
noitre the castle and city. They had been gone some 
hours and were near San Juan when we saw the flash 
and soon heard the deep sound of the heavy guns of 
the castle. They had approached within gunshot and 
were fired upon. Ten shells and one soHd shot were 
thrown at them before they were out of range. The 
stupidity of the enemy alone saved them. The enemy 
should have used their entire water battery and 
thrown soKd shot alone, opening on the boat when 
nearest and they must have sunk it, — but they 
waited until she was going off and then with no effect 
sent only the eleven shot spoken of. . . . 

March y. It is rumored that we are to commence 
our landing tonight — I doubt it. It is now four in 
the afternoon and the adjutant has gone to General 
Worth for orders. . . . The enemy have been driving 
cattle into the city, evidently preparing for a siege. . . . 
The adjutant has returned with the order for us to 
land at break of day from the war ship "Raritan." 
The point of debarkation is three or four miles below 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 113 

the city, opposite to the Island of Sacrificios. What 
awaits us on shore is all conjecture. It is not probable, 
however, that our landing will be opposed, as the 
enemy cannot be aware of the point or concentrate 
a force there. . . . We are to carry nothing with us 
but a great coat, a haversack with four days' pro- 
visions in it, and a canteen of water. . . . Now, 
hurrah for San Juan and a brevet ! I have written 
this with all the officers about me talking like mad to 
each other and to me. Major Scott says: " Give my 
best respects to your wife, and tell her we are going 
on the Flagship and shall take the first battery ! " 

Camp Washington, Near Vera Cruz, 
March 13, 1847. 

. . . We did not land as we expected, on the morn- 
ing of the eighth, as we were threatened with a norther, 
but remained at our anchorage. On the ninth the 
weather proving mild, the movement commenced at 
daylight. The First Brigade were mostly transferred 
to armed vessels; near two thousand to the Flagship 
" Raritan," including a portion of our regiment and 
my company. The steamers took the vessels in tow, 
and all started for the Island of Sacrificios, dropping 
our anchors about noon between that island and the 
main. Sacrificios is about twelve hundred yards from 
the shore where there is a good landing, three miles 
from the city and the castle, just beyond cannon range. 



114 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

We could see a few Mexican soldiers on shore, but no 
evidence of any large force to oppose our landing, 
though we did not know but there might be batteries 
and troops behind the sand hills. Our division as 
rapidly as possible debarked in the surf boats, and 
were ranged in order of battle about a quarter of a 
mile from the beach awaiting the signal to move to 
the shore. This was an interesting moment, and must 
have been a grand spectacle from the yards and tops 
of the shipping. Soon a cannon was fired at head- 
quarters, the steamer " Massachusetts," and with 
loud cheers we pushed for the beach, each hardy 
sailor using his utmost exertion to be the first to land. 
The entire division reached the shore in good order, 
every one leaping from the boats as their keels grated 
on the sand, wading the short distance that remained. 
We were at once formed in order of battle and ad- 
vanced over the sand hiUs. We met with no oppo- 
sition, not a single gun being fired. As we gained the 
crest of the hill, we could see a few Mexicans, but 
they were far off and not in force. It was near sunset 
when we gained our position. The boats returned 
immediately to bring the second line, composed of 
Patterson's division, the third being Twigg's brigade. 
As the night closed in we lay down on the sand, every 
alternate company remaining up to prevent surprise. 
About two o'clock I was roused from a deep sleep by 
the cry " To Arms," and the rattle of musketry on 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 115 

our right where there was apparently a smart skirmish. 
I was at once ordered with my company in front as 
a picket. I forced my way through the chaparral and 
over the broken ground, some three or four hundred 
yards to the front, where I took up a position that 
overlooked the country in advance. The firing had 
ceased and we were not again molested during the 
night. At daylight I was recalled and ordered to the 
right of the brigade as one company of a battalion of 
skirmishers under Captain C. F. Smith. The battalion 
is composed of four companies, and I am acting as 
major of the command. We shall probably remain 
detached from our regiment during the siege. Our 
movement for investing the city began on the morn- 
ing of the tenth. We, the skirmishers, were thrown 
forward to feel the ground. We could see about a 
quarter of a mile in front some two or three hundred 
Mexican soldiers, and a squadron or two of cavalry 
in the valley. We exchanged some shots without 
effect, though the escopet balls whistled over our 
heads. A few Congreve rockets were thrown at them 
and a shell or two from a mountain howitzer, — upon 
which they retreated. The position of Worth's di- 
vision is on the right or south of the town, its right 
flank resting on the sea. Our line of investment will 
extend a mile or so from the shore. From Worth's 
left flank the line is to be kept up by Pillow's Brigade, 
and so on to the left where the Third Brigade under 



ii6 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Twiggs is to rest on the sea to the north of the city. 
By noon on the tenth, Worth had occupied his po- 
sition and General Patterson's division, composed of 
Pillow's, Shield's, and Quitman's Brigades, marched 
to the left to continue the line of investment. Pillow's 
command was soon engaged with the enemy as we 
knew by the continued firing from them. We learned 
in the evening that they had gained their position 
without loss. The New York regiment occupied a 
large magazine in rear of Patterson's division. Dur- 
ing the day, the enemy were throwing solid shot and 
shells from their heavy guns and mortars which gener- 
ally fell short, though some reached the line causing 
a little beautiful dodging and much laughter. As the 
night closed in we bivouacked. On the eleventh the 
troops of General Patterson's division were still 
moving to the left, while the First (General Worth's) 
were engaged in reconnoitring and getting some of 
our camp equipage and provisions on shore. I saw 
Colonel Plympton and Edmund in the evening, both 
well. The Colonel has grown old since you saw him 
and I think is breaking, though his conversation is as 
lively and entertaining as ever. On the twelfth, 
Twiggs moved with his brigade to the left, having to 
fight much of his route, with some loss. Captain 
Alburtis of the Second Infantry was killed by a round 
shot which carried away his head as he was sitting 
under a tree. The same shot took off the leg of a 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 117 

corporal and wounded a third person. Lieutenant 
Colonel Dickinson of the South Carolina regiment 
and five or six men of the rifles were wounded. The 
enemy in these skirmishes must have suffered con- 
siderably, — a Mexican officer bearing dispatches to 
the Capital was among their killed. I was out all the 
night of the twelfth in command of two companies 
in the hope of intercepting a reenforcement, supposed 
to be coming in from Alvarado. 

I was interrupted here by an order for the light 
battalion to take two days' provisions in their haver- 
sacks and advance to drive in the enemy's outposts, 
and if possible to get position in the suburbs. I have 
been gone two days, but will take up my story where 
I left it. 

On the morning of the thirteenth, I returned from 
my picket on the Alvarado road, and we heard in the 
course of the day that the investment was completed. 
The weather is extremely disagreeable, a north wind 
blowing violently, nearly burying us in sand and pre- 
venting all communication with the ships. We regret 
very much that we cannot get our mortars and heavy 
guns on shore until there is a calm, as little can be done 
here until our batteries are in position. Duncan's 
light battahon and the Dragoons have not yet 
arrived and some anxiety is felt for their fate. We 
on shore were much disgusted at seeing a ship under 
French colors run the misnamed blockade carrjdng 



ii8 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

succor to the enemy, without the least apparent effort 
to intercept them from the navy, which were quietly 
lying at anchor. The armed steamers ought and 
could easily capture any vessel attempting to enter 
Vera Cruz. The gentlemen of the navy say it is en- 
tirely the fault of Commodore Connor and complain 
bitterly of the inactivity in which they are kept. On 
the fourteenth, in the morning, I was interrupted as 
I before stated, while trying to give you some account 
of what is going on. In compliance with the order 
spoken of, our battalion was soon in motion and by 
cutting our way through dense chaparral and by 
keeping under the sand hills we advanced a mile 
toward the city without being seen from it or the 
castle. I was here placed in a small indentation in 
the top of a sand hill in command of two companies, 
which were a reserve, and designed to support any 
advance parties which might be attacked. Here we 
remained twenty-four hours drenched with rain and 
nearly buried in the driving sand. Save the excite- 
ment of the whizzing of some passing ball (designed 
for our friends in the rear) whose flight we watched 
with some anxiety, there was nothing to relieve the 
monotony of our position. We were much fatigued 
on the morning of the fifteenth, when General Worth 
came to our position and ordered us to advance. We 
proceeded very cautiously in a small path which had 
been cut through the bushes advancing very gradu- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 119 

ally wherever we came to a place where there was 
any danger of being seen from the city. We soon 
came upon our advanced party under C. F. Smith, 
who were lying at the base of a hill among some very 
ancient tombs. — I must be more brief. — Captain 
Walker was throwTi forward with his company to a 
large cemetery near the wall of the city, and I was 
ordered to remain about two hundred yards in his 
rear to support him in case he was attacked. While 
lying with my company in this place prostrate upon 
the ground, the enemy amused themselves by throw- 
ing shells at us, only two of which struck near us, — 
one exploded a few yards to our left, and one struck 
about fifteen feet to my right, and rolled out of the 
hole very near Rossell and myself. We lay very close 
to the ground some minutes waiting for it to burst. 
Then I went and examined it and found very fortu- 
nately for us that the fuse had been broken off by its 
striking the ground. Towards night Walker thought 
himself threatened by cavalry from the city, and I 
advanced to his assistance. It was, however, only a 
small reconnoitring party which soon retired. The 
cemetery where we are stationed is a large rectangular 
enclosure surrounded by a high brick wall. In its 
centre is a chapel surmounted by a graceful dome. 
We were unable to advance beyond this point without 
being exposed to the direct fire of the enemy's bat- 
teries. It rained nearly all night and by morning we 



I20 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

were all pretty well worn out by two nights' picket 
duty. We were relieved about dawn on the sixteenth 
by the Fifth Infantry under Major Scott, and returned 
to camp dirty, wet, cold, and hungry. I found my- 
self covered with wood ticks and red bugs, and al- 
though for more than twenty-four hours I have 
constantly applied salt ammonia and oil, I am covered 
with inflamed blotches from head to foot. We re- 
ceived today particulars of Taylor's great but bloody 
victory. 

March 77. . . . The siege progresses slowly owing 
to the equinoctial storm which prevents the landing 
of our mortars and ordnance. The investment, how- 
ever, is complete and I do not think the enemy can 
communicate with the interior. Several of their ex- 
presses have been intercepted, in all of which they 
speak of the great terror of the inhabitants and of 
their want of provisions. I think when our batteries 
are estabhshed we shall make short work of it, and 
without much danger to ourselves as we shall only 
be exposed to their vertical fire, that is shell, which 

are not very destructive. Bob T is here, 

master of the " Princeton." I have seen him once — 
he is a fine, manly sailor, and I understand has aban- 
doned all the wild habits of his boyhood. The mail 
goes by the " Alabama " in the morning, and I must 
close this rude letter which, bad and imperfect as it 
is, has cost me no little trouble under all the disad- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 121 

vantages for writing which I have had to encounter. 

I shall write as usual when I can, but my details must 

be very imperfect as I am confined by duty to my 

own brigade. The left flank, where Edmund is, is 

several miles from us. Not a word I write must get into 

the papers. . . . 

Camp Washington, Around Vera Cruz, '\ 
March 22, 1847. -J 

My last date was the seventeenth. Since then have 
had no time to continue my journal, but all I could 
have recorded of interest can be told in a few words. 
The siege has progressed slowly and neither party has 
as yet injured the other materially. The first parallel 
has been opened about eight hundred yards from the 
wall of the town. The point of attack being directly 
in front of us, our brigade. General Worth's, has per- 
formed most of the labor in the trenches, and furnished 
nearly all the guards for the working parties. I have 
been on picket guard six nights in eleven, and the 
duty has been exceedingly severe upon all. The sand 
insects and want of rest must soon break us down in 
this climate unless the duty becomes lighter. The 
enemy are using their heavy batteries incessantly, 
throwing some hundreds of solid shot and shells at 
us every day, yet but one man in our brigade has 
been struck, a marine, who was killed yesterday 
morning by a shot striking the wall of the cemetery 
behind which he was sitting. We owe our safety to 



122 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

the pecuHar nature of the ground, all the distance 
from our camp to the trenches being a succession of 
high sand hills with valleys filled with chaparral in 
which we are entirely safe from all but vertical shot, 
the fragments of shells which burst in the air, and the 
chances are that not one in a thousand of them will 
be effective. 

Night before last I spent in advance of the trenches 
not far from the town. It was blowing a gale from 
the north, the fine sand pricking our faces like needles 
and nearly putting out our eyes. Being the advance 
post, and very near the enemy, great watchfuhiess 
was necessary to prevent surprise. I was up all the 
previous night and day, and yesterday at noon when 
I returned to camp, I was completely exhausted. A 
good night's rest, however, has restored me and I am 
ready for the trenches again. We have not yet 
opened a single battery on the town or castle and last 
night we got our first mortars and guns into position. 
But a small portion of our battering train has reached 
here and much anxiety is felt in regard to it, — 
whether it has been lost at sea or blown to leeward is 
not known. Forty-nine ten-inch mortars were ex- 
pected of which but ten have arrived, and of the 
breaching guns only four twenty-four-pounders and 
two sixty-four-pound howitzers. With these it is 
thought we can soon reduce the city, but the castle 
may stand a longer siege. The horses of the light 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 123 

batteries and those of the Dragoons have suffered a 
great loss by the sea voyage, • — Duncan having lost 
fifty, and a squadron of Dragoons under Colonel 
Harney one hundred and fifteen, and those horses 
which have been landed are scarcely fit for service. . . . 
Our army is in no danger from severe fevers until 
May, and before then I hope our work will be done, 
and we shall either return or go to the mountains. . . . 
At two in the afternoon today, the city and castle 
were summoned to surrender, which, of course, was 
declined in the usual courteous terms by General 
Morales, Governor of Vera Cruz and San Juan, and 
commander of the Mexican forces, and at half-past 
three o'clock six of our ten-inch mortars opened on 
the city with terrible effect. At the same time two 
small war steamers and five gun boats with heavy 
guns came to anchor within range of the castle to 
assist us in the attack. The enemy replied with every 
gun which they could bring to bear, returning at 
least three shots for every one of ours. It was a sub- 
hme spectacle from the sand hills in front of our camp 
where I was standing with Belton. The cannonade 
was terrific and the city and trenches were soon com- 
pletely hidden by the smoke. We know that our 
shells must be doing vast injury as every one ex- 
ploded in or immediately over the devoted city, and 
at the same time we felt confident that but little 
damage could be done to our troops in the trenches 



124 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

where they are covered from direct fire and are on 
the circumference of a circle, while our fire is concen- 
trated from that circumference on a centre. We were, 
however, anxious to hear from the advance where 
were four companies of the Fifth under Major Scott. 
Chapman's company and mine were resting after 
having been forty-eight hours on duty. 

At nine our regiment came in, when we learned 
that, as we supposed, we had silenced many of the 
Mexican guns, and as could be seen from the advanced 
positions had done great execution, knocking the 
spires, domes, and houses to ruins. If our weak bat- 
tery of six mortars has done so much, what must have 
been the result if all our guns — say fifty mortars and 
twenty or thirty heavy siege cannon, which should 
have been here — had all been in operation. I do not 
believe the enemy could have held out four hours. 

The loss on our side was but one soldier killed, but 
the entire army are mourning the death of Captain 
John R. Vinton, one of the most intellectual and gallant 
spirits of the army. He commanded the batteries in 
the trenches and a shell passing through the parapet 
of the parallel struck him in the head killing him 
instantly. Is it not strange that of the six or seven, 
which is all who have fallen in the siege, two should 
have been officers, Vinton and Alburtis ? 

On the morning of the twenty- third, I was ordered 
to the trenches with a working party of one hundred 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 125 

men. A violent norther had arisen during the night, 
which blew the sand back almost as fast as we threw 
it out. The enemy were firing but little, occasionally 
a small shell would drop near us, but we could always 
see it in time to get out of its way. Our batteries, too, 
were obliged to slacken their fire as the surf during the 
gale prevented any landing from the ships, and the 
shells brought on shore were nearly expended. No 
one on our side has been wounded since the fall of 
Vinton. I came back to camp last night, filthy and 
tired enough. A good night's sleep has restored me 
and I am besides cheered to hear that eighteen more 
mortars have arrived. The more we get, the sooner 
our work will be finished and the less injury we shall 
receive. 

I have just seen Uncle Edmund who says the 
" Princeton," war steamer, is about to sail for New 
York with Commodore Connor, who has been re- 
lieved by Commodore Perry. I hasten to close this 
for her mail and think it quite possible you may re- 
ceive this before the last which went in a sail vessel 
on the seventeenth. I haven't seen my brother for 
several days, but hear that he is well. I am most 
thankful that Webster's name is not, so far as we can 
learn, on the list of the wounded at Buena Vista. 
Wherever there is shade and soil here, there are many 
beautiful wild flowers in blossom. I shall send one in 
this letter. . . . 



126 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Camp Washington, Vera Cruz, 
March 24, 1847. 

The date above was written when I dosed my last 
letter which is still on the " Princeton " and will not 
leave until tomorrow, so you will get several letters 
at one time, and I hope in so great an amount of scrib- 
blings you will find sufiicient news to compensate for 
the labor of hunting out of the mass. 

It is now the twenty-ninth, Sunday, nine o'clock at 
night. I have just come in from a picket tour of three 
days and two nights at the Puente Moreno, which is 
some six miles in the country, where on the twenty- 
fifth there was a smart skirmish in which we were, of 
course, victorious, though at the expense of some few 
killed and Lieutenant Neal and two or three privates 
wounded. I am almost tired to death and would not 
write another word was my news of less importance. 
The bombardment of the city continued until the 
evening of the twenty-sixth when it ceased, much to 
the amazement of all who were not in the secrets of 
our chief. Something was in the wind, but what, was 
all conjecture, and so continued when on the morning 
of the twenty-sixth I was ordered on picket. The 
wind was blowing a gale (you will think it is all wind 
here, but there is a goodly sprinkling of sand), my tent 
had just been blown down, not only down, but in 
pieces, and the few articles which I possess here had 
been scattered about and buried in the sand. I, how- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 127 

ever, headed my company and left everything to its 
fate, marching with two other companies, aU under 
command of Major Sumner. 

I was glad enough to get into the green country 
away from the sand hills. We made ourselves as com- 
fortable as we could in our position, bivouacking on 
the bridge. Most of the night Sumner and myself 
spent in conjecture, and in discussing the probable 
causes of the strange silence of our batteries. On the 
twenty-seventh we heard from camp that it was owing 
to a flag received from the city with some proposals 
from the Mexican general, which a commission was 
discussing. We presumed it only related to the sur- 
render of the city and at one o'clock at night a Dragoon 
rode into our bivouac with a note from Colonel Hitch- 
cock saying that General Scott had just approved the 
Articles of Capitulation. Huzza! Huzza! the city 
and the strong castle of San Juan have surrendered ! 
Tomorrow, the thirtieth, the garrisons of both places 
are to march out, and our flag to float in place of the 
Mexican. The Mexican officers are to retain their 
side-arms, the rank and file to march without arms, 
and all to go into the interior on parole. Our brigade, 
General Worth's, are to meet them at the gates and 
take possession of the city and castle when they leave 
them. This is a great victory accomplished with Httle 
loss on our side, three officers and some ten men only 
having been killed. Five generals, eighteen colonels, 



128 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

etc., and between four and five thousand rank and 
file of the enemy become prisoners on parole. We 
possess the strongest place in Mexico. About three 
hundred cannon of all calibres, with all the arms, mu- 
nitions of war and public property, undoubtedly worth 
some millions, are ours. 

We hear the distress in the city has been dreadful, 
some hundreds of women and children having been 
killed by our shells. This is horrible! I have this 
moment been notified that with my company I am 
to garrison Fort St. lago, a small work on the south- 
east of the town. By the mail tonight I have received 
two letters from you but am too much worn out to 
answer them. I have been nine nights and days out 
of eighteen on picket, a considerable part of the time 
under the fire of the Mexican batteries and can 
scarcely see the paper, I would not read over this 
letter for anything! . . . 

Camp WAsmNCxoN, 
April 6, 1847. 

My last was closed on the twenty-eighth ultimo. 
Before now reports of our glorious success here with 
glowing accounts of the ceremonies of the surrender 
on the morning of the twenty-ninth are speeding their 
way to Washington and the world, and it would be 
useless for me to attempt a repetition of what you 
will find detailed so much better in the newspapers. 
However, as the " Magnanimous Mexican Army " 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 129 

moved out of the city, we marched in. My company 
of the Fifth and an artillery company moved off to 
the southeast corner of the town to occupy Fort St. 
lago where the first flag of our country which ever 
floated over the walls of Vera Cruz was raised by 
Major Martin Scott who was in command. 

As it was run up we fired a national salute from the 
twenty-four-pounders which garnished the fort. The 
navy followed with a tremendous roar of artillery 
from every gun in the fleet. 

Colonel Belton raised a flag and fired a salute from 
San Juan D'Ulloa, as did the oflScer in command at 
Fort Concepcion at the opposite corner of the town. 

Where Camp Washington Once Was, 
Near Vera Cruz, 

April 17, 1847. 

I do not know the date of my last letter, a short 
history will explain the cause. On the night of the 
seventh, I was writing a letter to you in my tent, when, 
in common with the other officers of the regiment, I 
was summoned to Major Scott's tent. Scott was 
swelling with importance and had borrowed a candle 
from the adjutant, being too poor to purchase. He 
held in his hand a note and commenced: 

" Are you all here ? " then began reading the note: 

" Major Scott, Sir: You " — a pause. 

" Where is Captain Ruggles ? Gentlemen, pay 
attention, we shall catch it before tomorrow night! " 



I30 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Myself: " What ! the yellow fever ? " 
Major Scott: " We are to go on desperate service." 
And so after beginning and stopping twenty times 
he finally managed to read a brief note from General 
Worth ordering him with the regiment to report to 
him on the morning of the eighth at dayHght in the 
plaza, each one carrying in his haversack five days' 
provisions and his greatcoat on his back. I asked 
Scott if he knew where we were going. " He thought 
he did, we would all find out before tomorrow night 
but some would not live to tell of it if he led them ! " 
etc., intimating that we were going on desperate ser- 
vice for which we were selected in consequence of his 
superior abilities, etc. I finally remarked that I 
thought he knew nothing about it, and that I would 
bet we were going after horses and mules, — in conse- 
quence of his peculiar fitness. 

I went to my tent and closed my desk, in which there 
were besides all your dear letters a considerable 
amount of money belonging to the regiment and to 
the men, and carried it to Major Kirby, as I dared 
not leave it in my tent during my absence. On my 
return last night we found the army all gone. Uncle 
had carried my desk with him not liking to leave it 
with any one, knowing its contents, — so I am without 
my dressing and writing apparatus. 

To resume. I had guessed right in regard to our 
duty. On reporting on the morning of the eighth, we 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 131 

were ordered on board the steamer " McKim" to go 
up the Alvarado River after horses and mules. We 
arrived at Alvarado, which is near the mouth of the 
river, just at sunset. Here is a fine harbor with about 
two fathoms on the bar at low water, and it is a much 
better point for a large city and a commercial depot 
than at Vera Cruz. The town which before the war 
contained between three and four thousand inhabi- 
tants is now in the possession of our navy, Captain 
Mayo being the Governor. It is much Uke other 
Mexican towns, — a large church, a few decent houses 
owned by the rich, the residue mean and dirty, filled 
with ticks, fleas, vermin, idleness, and licentiousness. 
In the morning we proceeded up the river which is 
truly beautiful — broad, deep, and clear, with rich 
verdant banks. 

About thirty miles from its mouth we arrived at 
the town of Tlacatalpin. Here the river forks the left 
branch taking the name of San Juan. Tlacatalpin is 
much the neatest town I have yet seen in Mexico, 
containing some three thousand inhabitants who are 
industrious in comparison with all others I have seen 
in this country. The women have the reputation of 
being virtuous, the men honest. They are at least 
half white, being less stained with negro blood than 
in those portions of Mexico which I have seen. Many 
cocoanut trees in full bearing were growing here, some 
ripe pineapples, indeed, most of the tropical fruits, 



132 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

excepting oranges. We found a great abundance of 
melons, green corn, cabbages, and some Irish potatoes 
which were tolerable. The quarter-master found it 
would be some days before he could get horses in from 
the surrounding country, so we left the steamboat 
and were quartered in a house for picking cotton. It 
was very dirty, of course, but it gave the men room 
to lie down in the shade which is absolutely necessary 
in this hot cUmate. The weather was awfully hot. We 
had no change of clothes and you can judge how un- 
comfortable and disgusting we were in a few days. 
We remained at Tlacatalpin from Friday until Tues- 
day evening. The march from that place to Vera 
Cruz was most horrible, — the men without bread, 
and had to be up all night watching the horses. We 
have just arrived. I am completely worn out and 
have just seen the villainous order of promotions and 
brevets in which the Fifth is entirely neglected. I am 
utterly disgusted with the service and were it not for 
you and the dear children would resign at once, but 
for your sakes I must continue to endure. 

Santa Anna with fifteen thousand men is, we learn, 
strongly fortified in a mountain pass about forty miles 
from here. It is supposed General Scott fought him 
yesterday, as cannon were heard. We all think it will 
be the last fight of the war as Santa Anna has his minis- 
ters with him evidently to negotiate, if he is beaten. 

April ig. . . . We are to march this evening or at 
daybreak tomorrow. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 133 

Jalapa, 
April 25, 1847. 

I wrote from Vera Cruz on the nineteenth, just be- 
fore we marched for this place. We were then nearly 
worn out with fatigue and started in bad spirits. In- 
deed the treatment which the army has received from 
the Administration, and the injustice done by the 
brevets, has disgusted and dispirited many of us, par- 
ticularly in our regiment, which has done so much 
service and been so entirely overlooked. ... I have 
recently been less regular in my correspondence than 
I desire to be, but I have been so situated that I could 
not even write a journal. We carry no baggage but a 
pair of saddle bags and a small roll of bedding and are 
without tents. I am now sitting on the ground writing 
on the top of a box. . . . We are to march to Perote, 
forty miles from here, tomorrow, to join General 
Worth, to whose division we belong. As I told you 
in my last we made our preparations to leave Vera 
Cruz on the nineteenth. . . . Just before dark we 
commenced our march moving over the sandy plain 
to the north of Vera Cruz. Our teams were drawn by 
the wild mustang horses we had brought from Tlacatal- 
pin, which were perfectly unbroken and could not be 
made to go. In consequence drag ropes were fastened 
to the wagons and our poor men were compelled not 
only to draw them but the horses, too. After toiling 
some hours we halted at a small stream of bad water 



134 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

where it united with the sea about three miles from 
Vera Cruz. I refreshed myself with a delicious bath 
in the tumbhng surf and " with my martial cloak 
around me " slept on the sands till four in the morning. 
We then started on our weary route, toiling over the 
deep sand dragging the wagons and gradually break- 
ing our horses to their work. 

We made but six miles that day and bivouacked at 
the small town of Santa Fe. All day we had been 
hearing reports of the terrible battle of Cerro Gordo. 

Our march on the twenty-first commenced at three 
o'clock in the morning and was over a hilly country, 
but on a tolerably good road. Our horses began to 
work very well for mustangs, and we labored on under 
a burning tropical sun, some of the men breaking 
down from the intense heat, till nine o'clock in the 
morning, when we halted near some water where there 
was a fine shade, and rested six hours. Several cattle 
out of the immense droves around us were shot, and we 
all got a good dinner. We could not march during the 
middle of the day, for there was a breathless calm and 
the sun would have melted men and horses in an hour. 

We struck Santa Anna's farm about twelve miles 
from Vera Cruz. It is thirty miles wide and extends 
to within a short distance of Jalapa, making it about 
fifty miles long. It is said there are more than sixty 
thousand cattle roaming over its pastures to say 
nothing of the sheep and horses. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 135 

About four in the afternoon we resumed our march 
and continued on into the night having made about 
sixteen miles. At the usual hour in the morning we 
proceeded and at ten in the morning reached the 
famous Puente Nacional, much the most remarkable 
bridge I have ever seen, stretching with many heavy 
stone arches over a beautiful, rapid mountain stream. ' 
The bridge lies in a natural pass which a few brave 
men might defend against armies. 

Above it on the summit of a lofty hill frowns a 
massive stone fort. The town at the northwest end 
of the bridge which usually contains several hundred 
inhabitants, we found, with the exception of a few men, 
entirely deserted. On a hill on the border of the village 
is a magnificent residence, one of Santa Anna's coun- 
tryseats, at which we spent the day, the men refresh- 
ing themselves by bathing. At six in the evening the 
advance sounded ^ — we marched off, up hill for two or 
three miles, when we found the road quite level and 
excellent. We were occasionally shocked by the sight 
of some poor soldier who had been shot by the wayside 
and whose unsepulchred remains were rotting on the 
ground. The road began to be strewed with the offen- 
sive bodies of dead horses and cattle, and the frag- 
ments of broken wagons, etc. , which are ever scattered 
behind an army. We marched on steadily until about 
two in the morning, when after descending a very long 
steep hill down which the road winds we halted at the 



136 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

town of Plan del Rio, four miles from the battle field of 
Cerro Gordo. Every hut, every place of shelter was 
found filled with the wounded. 

We had marched after sunset eighteen miles, and 
as soon as we halted the weary men dropped on the 
rugged, dirty earth, the ofiicers promiscuously scat- 
tered among them. I was officer of the day and as 
soon as I had posted a few sentinels I lay down in the 
very dust and dirt of the road with no bed or covering 
but my cloak, and in spite of the groans of the wounded 
and the shrieks of those who were suffering from the 
knives of the surgeons, I slept soundly for three hours. 

In the morning I visited those of my friends who 
were wounded, among whom is Poet Patten, all his 
left hand but the forefinger and thumb having been 
carried off by a grape shot. He was doing well and is 
very cheerful. I consoled him with the fact that 
though he could no longer play the guitar he might 
write better poetry than before. 

Here was to be seen every stage of suffering from 
wounds, but I will not describe to you the sickening 
scenes I have witnessed. We marched at five in the 
afternoon, being still twenty miles from Jalapa. We 
moved rapidly until we reached the battle field, which 
was at a pass that a few brave men ought to hold 
against the united world. It is three miles long, and 
by far the strongest I have ever seen. I have not time 
to record the various anecdotes I have heard or to 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 137 

give a detailed description of the battle. It is cer- 
tainly the most dreadful defeat the Mexicans have 
ever yet received and yet so confident were they of 
victory that the citizens of Jalapa rode to the ground 
to see the rout of our army and fireworks were pre- 
pared at various points to celebrate the flight of the 
" North Americans." Santa Anna publicly took an 
oath at the altar to conquer or leave his body on the 
field. — N. B. He was among the first to run. 

At two o'clock yesterday we reached this place, the 
prettiest town I have seen, surrounded by the finest 
country with the most deUcious climate in the world, 
the thermometer never rising above eighty degrees or 
falling much below sixty. A cloth coat is never un- 
comfortable, and one does not suffer in his shirt 
sleeves. It is more than four thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. Fruit and vegetables are abundant 
and cheap. 

Thete are some very ancient buildings here — I 
have seen but one yet, a chapel built by Hernando 
Cortes. There is now a large Franciscan monastery 
attached to it and the National College. 

The battle of Cerro Gordo is not likely to terminate 
the war as we supposed. The Mexicans appear de- 
termined never to give up even if we should take every 
town and fortress in the nation. What a stupid people 
they are! They can do nothing and their continued 
defeats should convince them of it. They have lost 



138 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTl^ 

six great battles; we have captured six hundred and 
eighty cannon, nearly one hundred thousand stand of 
arms, made twenty thousand prisoners, have posses- 
sion of the greatest portion of their country and are 
fast advancing upon their Capital which must soon 
be ours, — yet they refuse to treat! "Those the 
gods wish to destroy, they first make mad." . . . 

Castle of Perote, 
April 29, 1847. 

I wrote you a few hastily penned pages from Jalapa 
in which I briefly noted our march from Tlacatalpin 
to Vera Cruz, and from that place to Jalapa. The 
entire route is full of interest, many points being the 
scenes of severe contests of Hernando Cortes, and 
besides the historical interest connected with every 
foot of the road, the scenery on every side is of the 
grandest character. The great national road from 
Vera Cruz to Mexico, which is an admirably con- 
structed pavement, the work of the old Spaniards, 
winds up and down the sides of the huge hills now 
abruptly ascending, now pitching into some deep 
valley, where it crosses the ravine or dashing stream 
by a stone bridge whose beautiful construction puts 
to shame anything of the kind in the United States. 

The entire distance after the traveler passes Jalapa 
is bordered with the luxuriant growth of tropical 
climes from the stately palm to the most diminutive 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 139 

cactus. The gorgeous flowers of this region are now 
in full bloom, and surpass anything in the vegetable 
kingdom of which I had before conceived. On the 
twenty-sixth, at two in the afternoon, our regiment 
marched out of Jalapa over the road of which I have 
been speaking. For about two miles it descended be- 
tween beautiful pastures enclosed with good stone 
fences, and occasionally a corn or barley field all look- 
ing precisely like New England and lacking only its 
thriving population. The climate of this region can- 
not be surpassed, the soil is exceedingly rich and all 
the fruits in the world grow in it. If I could have my 
friends around me and a good government I should 
delight to pass my life in Jalapa. We halted at a little 
stream in the valley near a cotton factory, at the base 
of a rugged hill with an unwriteable Indian name, 
where Cortes fought one of his hardest battles. As 
soon as our train was in position we began the ascent 
of the eastern slope of the mountain, the road winding 
along its side and rising rapidly towards its summit. 
The afternoon was delightful, the air clear and bracing 
as on a November day in New York; the setting sun 
shone brilliantly on the snowy peak of Orizaba whose 
high crest was constantly in our view. At dark we 
reached the village of San Miguel. In this mountain 
region the air was cold, a damp, chilly fog closed around 
us making it necessary to quarter the men in some of 
the buildings, while the officers took possession of the 



I40 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

house of the curate who had fled his charge under the 
universal panic following the defeat of Cerro Gordo. 
This village most beautifully located in a kind of semi- 
sphere on the side of the mountain, with fine water, 
a glorious climate, and a productive soil, is a most 
miserable, filthy place. 

April 27. In the morning before sunrise we con- 
tinued our ascent, the road winding roimd the edge 
of the wide semisphere in which the village lay. As 
we arrived at the top the sun unobscured by a cloud 
rose above the horizon, apparently far below us, his 
first rays lighting the peak of Orizaba and showing 
us far in the distance the shining spires and domes of 
the beautiful city of Jalapa. The clouds in many- 
colored, gorgeous piles were resting on the summit of 
the mountains while the soft mists were lying in the 
lap of the hills below, the cultivated valleys showing 
all their beauties between, while here and there a 
bold precipice or ragged peak gave subHmity to the 
scene which was " beautiful exceedingly." I was in 
the advance with the vanguard, being officer of the 
day, and halted to gaze upon the view. I know not 
whether I am more susceptible to the effects of fine 
scenery than others — but this which was by far the 
most glorious picture of nature I have ever beheld 
completely overcame me, and I dropped on the earth 
to breathe a prayer and a thanksgiving to a good God 
who had made such a glorious world. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 141 

As we advanced ascending during the day the tropi- 
cal plants and trees were fast disappearing from the 
road, being replaced by those of a more rigorous 
climate. Apples and peach trees were almost the 
only fruit-bearing ones we saw, now in full blossom, 
and the pine almost the only forest tree. About ten 
o'clock I was startled by the sight of a new Troy- 
built stagecoach which, drawn by six mules, driven 
by a Yankee and filled with Yankee passengers, was 
dashing down the mountain road at the speed of ten 
miles an hour. I looked at U and the apple trees by 
my side and could almost imagine I was ascending 
some hill in New York. 

About noon we reached the pass of La Hoya, a wild 
ravine overlooked by the fortified peaks of the hills 
around it and passing directly through the extinct 
crater of an ancient volcano. This position is as strong 
as Cerro Gordo and preparations had been made to 
defend it, but the enemy abandoned it and their 
cannon, under the panic which seems to have seized 
the entire nation after the battle of the eighteenth. 
This is the highest point in the road between the coast 
and the City of Mexico, about nine thousand feet 
above the sea. We were glad to commence the descent. 
Before night we halted at a small stream, Agua Frio, 
having marched thirteen miles. On our left towered 
the lofty peak, Coffre del Perote, in our front could 
be seen the snowy summit of Popocatepetl and the 



142 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

silver crest of Orizaba was also stiU visible. A stone 
bridge spanned the small stream near us, and just 
above it was a distillery in full operation. 

Our bivouac was made around the ruins of an old 
palace. It was a massive, square construction nearly- 
one hundred feet on a side. A colonnade with heavy 
arches and pillars ran the entire extent of the front. 
Passing through the only gate, I entered a square court 
about fifty feet on a side, surrounded by Doric columns 
which once supported the roof of the porches into 
which the extensive rooms of the building opened. 
The inhabitants know nothing of its history and it 
has evidently been abandoned for centuries. Every 
particle of woodwork is decayed, the roofs entirely 
gone, and the earth has gradually risen, nearly cover- 
ing the bases of the pillars and burjdng the marble 
pavements many feet below. It was a moated work, 
the remains of the ditch being evident on two sides, 
serving now for fences to the adjoining fields. Trees 
are growing from some of the rooms, showing the ex- 
treme antiquity of the building. It was probably 
erected by some of the Spanish nobles who came to 
this country soon after the conquest by Cortes. Here 
knights have armed for the battle and celebrated their 
victories on their return. Here blushing beauty has 
listened to the amorous tale breathed in her ear by 
her warrior lover. Where are they all now ? The 
beauties have mouldered in the tomb forgotten. The 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 143 

very memory of the knights is gone. In the wotds of 

an old poet: 

" Their bones are dust, 
Their swords are rust, 
Their souls are with their God we trust." 

April 28. The sun was far above the horizon be- 
fore we marched, as we had but nine miles to make 
to Perote. We soon came upon the extensive plain 
upon which stands the celebrated castle. The plain 
which extends for many miles is eight or nine miles in 
width with a light but productive soil. The castle of 
Perote is nearly in its centre, perhaps nearer the west- 
em extremity, and about one mile to the south of it 
is the village, overhung by the Coffre del Perote. I 
rode into the town before going to the castle, which is 
garrisoned by the Sixth and Eighth Infantry, saw 
General Worth, and Major Kirby, from whom I re- 
ceived my desk upon which I am now writing. The 
village is a fourth-rate Mexican town but the castle is 
a chef-d'oeuvre. A square, bastioned work, every 
portion of it complete and of the most massive con- 
struction, capable of containing many thousand men 
and of enduring a long siege — but notwithstanding 
its strength, the Mexicans fled from it without attempt- 
ing its defence. We have no work to compare with 
it in the United States. It was completed in 1776. 

The advance of General Worth's division is some 
twenty miles from here, and we shall soon move on 



144 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Puebla. Since the battle of Cerro Gordo, the Mexican 
Congress have passed a law making it treason for any 
one to propose peace, in fact, declaring perpetual war. 
Rejou and Gomez Farrias have been endeavoring to 
get up a peace party and have been denounced as 
traitors by the Mexican papers. They are very in- 
fluential and known to be patriots. I have therefore 
some hopes that they may succeed and that we are 
near the end of the war. If they do not, I see no re- 
sult but an armed occupation, colonization, and years 
of guerilla warfare. . . . 

Castle of Perote, 
April 30, 1847. 

... I have been all day preparing muster rolls. I 
miss Meyerbach very much in these matters. My 
company like all the rest in the regiment is in bad 
order. It numbers ninety-six and only seventy-nine 
are present, nearly half of whom are recruits who have 
been drilled but little or none at all. I shall, however, 
make a strong effort to give them some instruction at 
every delay on our route. I mentioned in some one 
of my letters that I belonged to Lieutenant-Colonel 
C. F. Smith's light battalion of four companies. I 
was separated from it before the close of the siege at 
Vera Cruz, but on arriving here I was informed that 
I would be ordered to rejoin it immediately, but before 
the order was published I requested through Major 
Kirby to be allowed to remain here tiU after muster. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 145 

Other circumstances I think will delay me a few days 
longer. I have been on a Council of Administration 
today for concurrence in the appointment of a chap- 
lain to our brigade. The Rev. Mr. McCarty of our 
church, formerly from Oswego, receives the appoint- 
ment. I am not much acquainted with him, but he 
appears to be an excellent man. It will really be re- 
freshing to hear another sermon, which pleasure I 
hope to have on Sunday, though perhaps by that time 
I may be on some far away scout. The rainy season, 
I believe, has commenced, for there has been a heavy 
shower every evening since we arrived, and this morn- 
ing the lofty summit of the Coffre del Perote was 
covered with snow which had fallen during the night. 
I feel extremely sad and lonesome in this great prison- 
like castle. Every sound echoes through its vast halls 
and interminable galleries, and although there are so 
many of us in it, it is so capacious that it scarcely 
appears to be occupied. The ordnance command 
here have been busied today in breaking up the Mexi- 
can arms found in the castle. Muskets, escopets, and 
rifles have been literally smashed. The gun stocks 
are used for firewood and the barrels and locks 
broken on an anvil. They can be of no use to us and 
it is determined they shall be of none to the enemy. 
Those taken on the battle field were burnt. The iron 
cannons, I am told, are all to be destroyed and the 
brass and copper guns to be taken to the United 



146 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

States. What fools the Mexicans are that they don't 
make peace ! 

May I. . . . An order has been received from 
General Scott directing a forward movement of the 
whole army to commence as soon as the large pro- 
vision train arrives. By this order it appears that he 
intends to abandon his rear and suffer his communica- 
tions with the coast to be cut off. The army, there- 
fore, is to depend upon the country for supplies which 
will probably be scanty enough — however, " For- 
ward " is the word; the " Halls of the Montezumas " 
our destination, and I confidently think that we shall 
soon be in possession of the Capital, though I do not 
believe a '* peace will be conquered." The guerilla 
system is already in operation. The train which is 
now coming up was attacked a few days since, and 
some killed and wounded on both sides, though the 
Mexicans were repulsed. 

May 2. It is Sunday. I attended divine service 
this morning. A table was placed under the porch of 
the commanding officer's quarters, which served as a 
desk. The men were paraded in masses in the court- 
yard, the officers standing near the chaplain. After 
reading the service he preached a good sound, though 
unornamented sermon on the necessity of religion; 
it was a continuation of his discourse of last Sunday. 
This is the first Protestant service I have heard since 
I left Syracuse in August, 1846. I am officer of the 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 147 

day and my company the castle guard. In the course 
of my duties I have been completely round the work 
in the ditch. 

On the west side, in the curtain near the flank wall 
of the south bastion, I observed a huge wooden cross 
mortised into a circular stone pedestal about two feet 
in height. At the junction of the pedestal and cross 
is a stone step a few inches high sufficiently large for 
a man's feet, and at the extremity of the horizontal 
arms of the cross are arrangements for fastening hands. 
The wall behind the cross was thickly marked with 
musket balls for fifty feet in each direction. All round 
the pedestal and upon it were the bleaching bones, 
skulls, arms, legs, and vertebrae, promiscuously 
mingled, of those who had been executed here, and 
left to the worm and buzzard without sepulchre. As 
I gazed upon these remains of poor mortality, I 
thought perhaps they were the relics of those brave 
Texans who were captured at Mier, many of whom 
were executed here. This is probably the place of 
general execution for the castle. 

Haciendo, San Antonio, 
May 3, 1847. 

About ten this morning I received an order to march 
as an escort to the siege train under Hayner to this 
place and then to proceed to Tipi Gualco to join the 
light battalion. My company marched out of the 
castle about half-past one, took the great road to 



148 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

Mexico, and before sunset reached here, eight miles 
from Perote, where there is a large garrison under 
Major Wright. This hacienda is worthy of a descrip- 
tion. The front of it is immediately on the road — 
the main entrance being through the building and 
opening upon an enclosure of at least one hundred and 
fifty yards on a side, surrounded by a high stone wall 
with flanking towers on the diagonal corners. On 
two sides of it are extensive sheds, and in the centre 
a large and very deep well from which the water is 
drawn by horse or mule power. The animal is har- 
nessed to a sweep which turns a windlass like an old- 
fashioned cider mill. He moves round in one direction 
until the bucket reaches the top, when he is turned 
and travels the opposite way until the other bucket 
comes up. This is kept going night and day, the water 
being turned into troughs from which it is used for 
every purpose, agricultural and domestic. There are 
now in the storehouses here more than ten thousand 
bushels of corn and barley which have been purchased 
by our quarter-master. About the exterior are huge 
stacks of straw and corn stalks for fodder, no hay being 
ever made in this country. This estate, which belongs 
to a young man, is twelve miles square and has on it 
large herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, droves of mules, 
horses, and swine, and some hundreds of slaves — 
they are called peons — who are under the worst kind 
of bondage, belonging to their masters until they get 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 149 

out of debt to him, which he takes care they never 
shall do. These poor creatures under an overseer are 
turned out to work before daylight. They are as- 
sembled in a sort of military array before a great cross 
erected near the main entrance of the hacienda, where 
they all join in a matin song. When they return from 
work in the evening a similar ceremony takes place, — 
in the presence of the overseer, mounted on his horse, 
they sing their hymn to the Virgin. The song con- 
cluded they retire to their huts to gather strength, 
amidst their dirt, for another day's servitude. 

We hear that General Scott says that in all proba- 
bility our communication with Vera Cruz will be cut 
off from six to nine months. A sweet prospect not to 
hear from you for nine months! I don't believe the 
story — it must be all gammon ! I shall continue to 
write as hitherto. We march in the morning at sun- 
rise. . . . 

May 4, Tipi Gualco {old Indian meaning, lost). We 
left San Antonio early this morning. A heavy mist 
lay upon the plain making it quite dark and wetting 
us almost as completely as a drenching rain. I felt 
wretchedly. Last night after writing in a room full of 
officers who were sleeping around me, I put out my 
light and lay down, but soon felt an attack of gastritis 
coming on. I endeavored to lie still not being willing 
to disturb any one, in the hope it would soon pass off. 
It, however, became unendurable and I was com- 



150 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

pelled to arouse my man Barney who slept in the 
anteroom and send for the doctor. He soon relieved 
me, but as usual I am paying for it today. Mem. — 
Barney is a character. For many years he was in the 
service of W. R. Johnson, the " Napoleon of the Turf," 
and rode Peytona on all her famous races. He is an 
acute httle jockey, and a most excellent servant. He 
has become much attached to me and, I believe, serves 
me from pure love. 

About eight o'clock the mist suddenly rolled away 
over the tops of the high mountains about us, showing 
that we were on an arid plain herbless and desolate. 
Our whole route was the same until at eleven o'clock 
we reached this town situated at the base of a high 
pumice stone mountain of the same name. Every- 
thing here showed decay and misrule. I reported to 
Colonel Garland and to Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, 
and after an hour or two succeeded in obtaining shelter 
for my company and myself in a dirty, ruined place 
nearly a mile from the rest of the brigade. By some 
labor we have made it comfortable and a cup of coffee 
has made me feel quite well. We are near the house 
of the curate, and this afternoon, with Rossell and 
Farrelly, I visited him. 

He was nearly frightened to death when we entered 
his domicile — or rather yard — at the gate of which 
he was standing, and taking off his high-crowned 
sombrero, he bowed nearly to the earth. We sat down 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 151 

in his humble dwelling and soon succeeded in restoring 
his confidence, especially after Farrelly assured him 
he was a Catholic. We went through the church which 
is very large, and was once a fine building but is now 
much dilapidated. The padre accompanied us to our 
quarters, and after sipping a glass of wine with us out 
of a tin pint cup left us apparently quite our friend. 
In this high desert land fleas and ticks are too wise to 
hve, so I hope to pass a quiet night. Buenos noches. 

May 5. Nothing new today either from the front 
or rear save a rumor, which I think entirely unfounded, 
that Trowbridge and his clerk have been murdered 
near Santa Fe. I do not believe that he has yet ar- 
rived at Vera Cruz. I beg you to continue to write 
to me as hitherto, for the reinforcements which must 
continue to arrive will escort the mails from Vera Cruz, 
even should we be unable to send ours to that point. 
Be under no apprehensions on my account if you do 
not hear from me. My health is good and I shall take 
good care to keep it so. We are in a healthy region 
and I do not believe we shall have another general 
action. 

My opinion of volunteers and the whole volunteer 
system is not changed in the least. They are expen- 
sive, unruly, and not to be relied upon in action. Their 
conduct towards the poor inhabitants has been horri- 
ble, and their coming is dreaded like death in every 
village in Mexico, while the regulars are met by the 



1 



152 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

people almost as friends. A portion of them (the 
volunteers) have fled in every action in which they 
have been engaged and they can never succeed unless 
supported by the line. At Monterey, Buena Vista, 
and Cerro Gordo portions of them ran. General 
Taylor says in a letter that at Buena Vista, had they 
not been turned back by the enemy who had got to 
his rear, many more than did would have entirely 
fled the battle field. Pillow's Brigade of volunteers 
were defeated at Cerro Gordo, and he requested the 
General to send him a few regulars, if only one com- 
pany, to support and set an example to his men. The 
first instance is yet to occur in this war in which a 
regular has abandoned his post or been defeated. 
Portions of the volunteers have fought most gallantly, 
but when they will fight, and when they won't, can 
only be determined by experiment. I am aware that 
these opinions would be considered almost treasonable 
in the United States, but here they are the sentiments 
of all the regulars and of a large number of the volun- 
teer oflicers in the field. 

May 6, Tepeyahudco {correct spelling, projiounced 
Ta-pa-dh-u'olko) . This was once a fine little town, 
most of it is now in ruins. It is between fifty and sixty 
miles from Puebla which is said to be the third city in 
Mexico, There are now here Duncan's light battery, 
the light battalion under Colonel C. F. Smith, to 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 153 

which I am acting major; the Second Artillery com- 
manded by Captain McKenzie, the Third Artillery 
by Colonel Belton, and the Fourth Infantry under 
Colonel Graham. These battahons with five com- 
panies of the Fifth, which are still at Perote, consti- 
tute a brigade under Colonel Garland. Our men have 
suffered terribly here with ague and fever and bilious 
intermittents. The sickness arises from their great 
exposure in the tierra caliente near the coast, their 
bivouacking in the heavy dews and rains, and the 
excessive fatigue of their long march. The cases are 
generally Hght, and in this cool, healthy climate they 
will soon recover. Dr. Satterlee is my attending 
physician. 

Some Mexican gentlemen came in this morning 
from Puebla. One of them, a very intelligent man, 
educated in Hartford, Connecticut, represents the 
country as in a most deplorable condition, the Govern- 
ment as utterly disorganized by the battle of Cerro 
Gordo, which he pronounces the most serious blow 
the Republic has ever received. The Government, he 
says, is not capable of carrying on the war or of making 
a peace. The roads are filled with bands of robbers 
under the name of guerillas, who are as ready to 
plunder and murder the Mexicans as they are to 
attack us. The city of Puebla has a deputation pre- 
pared to meet us before we reach its gates to escort 
us within its walls, and an officer ready to turn over 



154 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

the public property. From the best information there 
is not at this time more than four thousand Infantry 
of the enemy under arms in all this portion of Mexico. 
There are besides some three thousand cavalry under 
General Canalizo who escaped from the battle of 
Cerro Gordo, but they are of no account, and we 
neither know nor care where they are. 

There is no middle class in this country. The upper 
" ten hundred " not " ten thousand " possess all the 
wealth and are continually quarreling about the con- 
trol of affairs and creating constant revolutions. The 
milUons are steeped in ignorance, \dce, and poverty, 
abject to the priests and trampled to the dust by the 
wealthy. . . . 

May 7. There is a probability of our remaining 
here some days. Some troops were sent this morning 
to the village of San Juan, seven miles distant, to 
secure certain supplies which were intercepted by a 
petty robber chief. They returned this evening and 
reported that the chief had fled, but they found San 
Juan a fine, neat town containing three churches and 
from three to four thousand inhabitants. It lies in a 
rich, cultivated valley about twenty miles in extent. 
So far we have been able to secure at high prices an 
abundance of grain, flour, beef, mutton, fresh pork, 
some coffee, sugar and salt, with common tallow 
candles, so that the army can be tolerably well pro- 
visioned without transporting supplies from the sea- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 155 

board during the hot season. I wish we could move 
forward to Puebla where the sick would be more com- 
fortable. I have now forty-five men of my company 
sick, twenty-three of them are present, and the re- 
maining twenty-two have been left at various places 
on the route. . . . 

May 8. This is the anniversary of the battle of 
Palo Alto, my first fight, the first of the war, and per- 
haps the most important in its consequences. Little 
did we think, who were engaged in that contest, that 
in one year we would be in the heart of Mexico, and 
that a salute in honor of that \'ictory would peal from 
the walls of San Juan D'Ulloa. Where shall we be a 
year hence? Quien sahe? perhaps in California, 
perhaps at home, which may God grant. 

Seven regiments of volunteers are going home, their 
time ha\dng expired. This "vsill reduce our force so 
much that it is doubtful whether General Scott will 
think it prudent to advance beyond Puebla. . . . 

May g. This is the anniversary' of the battle of 
Resaca. How differently I feel now vAth. regard to 
the v.'ar from what I did then I Then vague visions of 
glor\' and a speedy peace floated through my brain. 
Now I have learned in common with many other poor 
fellows that it is not he who patiently does his duty, 
or who in the hour of danger is in the front of the battle, 
who gains the laurel or the more \ailgar reward of 
government patronage. It is too frequently the 



156 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

sycophant who flatters the foibles of his commanding 
officer, he who has political family influence, or whom 
some accident makes conspicuous, who reaps all the 
benefits of the exposure and labors of others. The 
long fist of brevets, most outrageously unjust as they 
are, many of them double, is a register of evidence to 
the facts that success is a lottery and that government 
rewards are by no means dependent on merit. How 
tired and sick I am of a war to which I can see no 
probable termination ! How readily would I exchange 
my profession for any honest, mechanical employment, 
were it possible to do so! How instantly would I 
resign if I saw any certainty of supporting my family 
in tolerable comfort or even decency in civil life! 
Why do I grumble or let you know how miserable I 
am ? Think not I am always so. It is not often that 
I suffer my mind to dwell on these matters, or yield 
to any despondency. General Worth (" Young 
Cortes") has arrived with the remainder of the Second 
Brigade. . . . General Worth's division is to march 
at once to Puebla. . . . General Worth informs me 
that Major Kirby has gone back to Jalapa by order 
of General Scott, who wants his shrewd counsel and 
can find no other man capable of settling the confused 
accounts of the "Mohawks" who are tired of the war 
and are going home to boast of their deeds of arms. . . . 
Rossell is in fine health. He is an excellent officer and 
ought to have been brevetted for Monterey. . . . 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 157 

Vereyes, 
May 10, 1847. 

I dispatched a missive to you this morning just be- 
fore we marched from Tepeyahualco which we left 
at eight in the morning. We moved with the Dragoons 
under Thornton in advance, then Duncan's light 
battery, then Smith's light battaHon, of which I am 
acting major, not a " real live " major, not even a 
brevet, then the Second Artillery, then the Third 
under Bel ton ' (who by the bye expresses much in- 
terest in your welfare), then the wagon train, and 
finally the Fourth Infantry as a rear guard. Our 
route lay through the same arid plain which I have 
already described. Orizaba's silver crest on our left 
shone in the morning sun like a metallic dome to some 
huge cathedral, while Popocatepetl just showed his 
snowy summit over the lower mountains in our ad- 
vance, resembHng a white cloud on the far distant 
horizon. As the sun approached the zenith it became 
intensely hot. We, however, marched with great de- 
liberation and by one o'clock encamped in order of 
battle at this place, having made twelve miles. 

This is nothing but an extensive hacienda where 
besides the proprietor's house and a large enclosure 
with the peons' huts there is a chapel and a fine well. 
Wells on this great Mexican plateau are property as 
they were in the patriarchal days of Abraham. 

^ His uncle by marriage. 



iS8 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

I am now for the first time since the beginning of 
the war about to advance the opinion that we are on 
the verge of a peace. As I have been hitherto correct 
in my prognostics, I trust my " second sight " will 
not prove erroneous now. My reasons for advancing 
this opinion are numerous. This morning the dili- 
gence (the aforesaid Troy stage) entered the town of 
Tepeyahualco before we left. It was direct from the 
City of Mexico, the first arrival from that place since 
the battle of Cerro Gordo. In it were one English 
and three Mexican gentlemen, who stated that the 
peace party under Rejou and Gomez Farrias was fast 
gaining strength; that both at Puebla and Mexico 
the inhabitants were anxious for our presence to pro- 
tect them from their own banditti who were robbing 
the defenceless; that the church and people were 
now convinced that we outside barbarians had not 
come here to dismember the state or destroy their 
religion; and that the unconditional release of the 
prisoners taken at Cerro Gordo and their being fur- 
nished with provisions to support them to their homes 
had produced such a wonderful effect upon the re- 
mainder of the army that their generals had been 
obliged to embody them and send them under guards 
to their villages, for fear that their statements would 
cause the residue of their troops already disaffected 
to entirely disband. I see no reason to doubt their 
assertions and I now believe that in two months 
negotiations for peace will have commenced. . . . 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 159 

May 12, El Penal. We marched on the tenth as 
usual passing several haciendas. Our route lay through 
a country very similar to that which I have already 
described. The same bold mountain peaks in every 
direction bounding the same extensive level plain — the 
great Mexican plateau. The character of the soil im- 
proved and the cultivated fields were more numerous 
and extensive. About two in the afternoon we passed a 
beautiful spot, Ojo de Agua. This extensive hacienda 
lay at the foot of a bold mountain. Besides the usual 
residence of the wealthy proprietor, who was there to 
welcome us, there were many neat, stone houses for 
the peons, arranged in parallel streets like the negro 
quarters on a large Louisiana plantation, and a beau- 
tiful little chapel with an ornamented dome and two 
steeples for bells, having in front of it an exquisite 
garden filled with rare tropical flowers in full bloom. 
I gathered a large bouquet which I only wish I could 
place in your hand. We marched two or three miles 
from Ojo in a gale of wind, so completely filling the 
air with dust that we could not see a rod before us. 
We encamped in a corn field, the young corn just 
above the ground, at some nameless hacienda. This 
morning at daylight the Second Brigade of our 
division under Colonel Clarke overtook us, and we 
all marched at six in the morning. We found the 
character of the country much changed. On both 
sides of the road, the plain to the base of the moun- 



i6o TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

tains and in some instances far up their sides was well 
cultivated and in every direction lying in the midst 
of the rich corn and barley fields were haciendas and 
towns. Some pear, peach, and apple trees grew along 
the road and an occasional grove of pines and locusts. 
Among the more useful productions of the soil is the 
aloe or century plant, from which is made the pulque, 
the universal drink of the Mexicans. The fields 
are divided by long hedges of it. We arrived at the 
town of Nopalucam at half-past ten, an ordinary 
Mexican town. The padre more sensible than most 
of his brethren kept all his people at home instead of 
sufifering them to flee before us " barbarians." 

We have heard that Santa Anna is in our advance 
a few leagues with a considerable force. When we 
get there if he has not fled we will give him another 
edition of Cerro Gordo. We encamped at two o'clock 
about twenty-two miles from Puebla. The wind 
blows so I cannot write any more; this bivouacking 
is ridiculous business. 

May I J. During the night we had an alarm, several 
shots were fired by our pickets and the long roll beat. 
We were all under arms at two o'clock, and remained 
so till daylight, when our battalion with a squadron 
of Dragoons and two engineers with the sappers and 
miners were sent in advance to search for some 
fougasses which it was reported the enemy had made 
under the road. After advancing about two miles, 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT i6i 

the road winding along the base of the mountain, we 
reached the famous pass of El Penal. Here the valley 
between two mountains is narrow, the ground gullied 
and broken and a broad, deep ravine whose sides are 
perpendicular and twenty or thirty feet high confines 
the narrow road to the immediate base of the moun- 
tain, which is precipitous and ragged with ledges and 
broken rocks, sustaining, wherever the crevices afford 
sufficient soil, large pine trees, hence the name. Here 
the engineers found that the Mexicans had commenced 
establishing mines under the road by constructing 
galleries from the ravine but they were abandoned 
incomplete. Information was sent back to the 
general and after advancing about a mile farther we 
halted for the main body to come up. It overtook 
us at seven in the morning and an hour after we 
resumed our usual order of march. 

We soon entered the small town of Acajete where 
we halted again for an hour. Here we were told that 
Santa Anna had retreated from Puebla, and that 
there had been a Pronunciamento against him in 
Mexico. After passing Acajete the road leaves the 
mountains, although they are still visible in every 
direction, and passes through a cultivated plain 
sprinkled with small villages and haciendas. At one 
place for at least a mile it is cut down into the 
soil ten feet resembling the deep cutting for a rail- 
road. 



1 62 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

About one o'clock we entered Amazoque which is 
a considerable town with a large plaza, several fine 
churches, and some extensive barracks for Dragoons 
and Infantry. The inhabitants were not at all alarmed 
at our approach — the streets were crowded as they 
would be in the United States on a training day, the 
women and men mingling freely among our ranks as 
we halted in the plaza; the hucksters and market 
women were all about us hawking their various articles 
of trade. There was a great variety of fruits there, 
pines, oranges, mama apples, cocoanuts, ripe cherries, 
raspberries, and peaches. We soon got into quarters, 
such as they were, with the expectation of resting 
here over tomorrow waiting for General Quitman's 
Brigade one day behind us. 

May 14. The morning broke most delightfully, as 
it ever does in this deUcious cHmate, and although I 
had been quite sick in the night, I dressed in my best, 
intending to take a look at the nut-brown dames of 
Amazoque, when a sudden change came over the 
scene. The long roll sounded, a call which always 
thrills to the very marrow of a soldier, as it never 
beats on Ught occasions and is the usual prelude to a 
battle. Amid all the confusion it was impossible for 
some time to ascertain the cause of the alarm. We 
soon learned that a large force was advancing from 
the direction of Puebla. Our little battalion was kept 
in the square as a part of the reserve, while a portion 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 163 

of the artillery and the main Infantry force marched 
out to meet the foe who were moving round the right 
of the town, apparently to get in our rear. Our cannon 
soon opened upon them, throwing them into great 
confusion. By this time, about nine o'clock, we as- 
certained that their force was only about twenty-five 
hundred cavalry with three pieces of artillery. They 
did not attempt to return our fire but marched in 
considerable confusion to our right and rear. As they 
approached Quitman's Brigade, which warned by our 
guns was drawn up in order of battle, they retreated 
still farther to the right, and thus ended the battle of 
Amazoque. With no loss on our side we took some 
five or six prisoners, including their chaplain and a 
lieutenant, and eight cavalry horses. The number of 
their killed is variously estimated from twenty to fifty. 
Their forces were led by Santa Anna in person, but 
no one can devise what could have been the object of 
his movement. 

PUEBLA, 

May 15, 1847. 

After the one-sided fight yesterday, of which I have 
spoken, we expected to remain in quiet until the next 
day, but our battalion and the First Brigade were 
ordered to advance at three o'clock and after marching 
a mile and a half from the town were halted near a 
hacienda, our Httle battaUon being far out in a naked 
com field, where from the nature of the ground our 



1 64 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

wagons were unable to reach us. It was near night 
when we got our position — the sky threatened a 
storm and we had been without food nearly all the 
day. We received orders that no fires would be al- 
lowed, and that the men must remain by their arms 
as we were to march sometime between eight and 
ten in the evening. Before ten it rained violently 
with a driving wind, completely drenching us all, and 
the time for marching was changed to three in the 
morning. 

The poor men were without greatcoats or blankets 
and were excessively uncomfortable. I had brought 
my cloak on my horse, and with my saddle for a pillow, 
I lay down on the ground and despite the pelting 
storm slept soundly until I was waked by an aide-de- 
camp gi\dng orders that the march should be deferred 
till dayhght. The storm was entirely past and I ob- 
tained permission to build a fire, by which the men 
dried their dripping clothes and put their arms in 
order. We started at dawn and soon came into a 
Uttle village from which the spires and domes of 
Puebla were visible. Here we saw two beautiful 
carriages of English make which late in the night 
brought a deputation from the city to confer with 
General Worth. W^e soon proceeded, throwing out 
flankers and using every precaution against surprise. 
About two miles from the city we halted at a heavy 
stone bridge over a small stream where the entire 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 165 

division with Quitman's Brigade was closed up, our 
baggage placed in rear of all but a guard, when with 
our colors displayed and our bands playing national 
airs we marched into the city over a fine macadamized 
road thronged with immense numbers of the teeming 
population. 

This place has no suburbs, does not thin off to the 
country as our cities do, but from the cultivated fields 
you come at once among the compactly built dwellings. 
The streets are broad, and were swarming with the 
multitude as far as the eye could reach, — the cross 
streets too were filled in every direction, indeed, I am 
sure I never before saw half so many people together. 
Our little army of four thousand was completely lost 
in the crowds that pressed around us, examining us 
pretty much as they would the animals in a menagerie. 
As we marched in front of the palace we were saluted 
by the municipal troops, and on reaching the large 
central plaza we were halted, stacked our arms, and 
rested about two hours while quarters were assigned 
to the different corps. I have seen as yet but Httle 
of the place, but quite enough to satisfy me that there 
is nothing to compare with it in the United States. A 
great many priests were moving about among the 
throng or sitting on the balconies with the ladies. 
They all wore black robes and on their heads felt hats 
resembling in shape a flattened piece of stove pipe 
with a hole in the side for the head. As they passed 



1 66 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

all the people took off their hats and bowed low. I 
believe we are all now in our quarters, sentinels 
posted and patrols established for the night. 

The papers here state that Santa Anna lost ninety 
men in the skirmish yesterday. I have not half told 
the story of the fight, but I must cut off my long 
yam. . . . 

May 1 6. . . . Yesterday after making my toilet I 
dined at the Commercio, an eating-house near the 
palace kept by a Httle Frenchman. This is Sunday. 
I went to Mass at the Cathedral. This vast building, 
standing on one side of the plaza opposite the palace, 
far surpasses any church I have ever seen, and is said 
to be the richest and most beautiful one in the entire 
New World. At some future day I may say more of 
this building, but at present have only time to remark 
that the interior is rich beyond description with silver 
and gold ornaments, poHshed marble, and a very 
great number of admirable old paintings of great 
value. 

There have been several cases of stabbing today 
and one soldier killed. It is dangerous to go about 
alone or unarmed, indeed the orders are that no one 
shall leave his quarters without arms. It is thought 
that the guerillas and rabble are in league together, 
and in consequence of some information to this effect 
the guards have been doubled this evening since tattoo 
and all are cautioned to be ready for service. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 167 

May ly. Late last night after scratching the above 
I went to bed but was soon aroused by the galloping 
of a horse which halted at the entrance to my quarters, 
and Worth's adjutant-general called to me that he 
desired to see Colonel Smith. There was a fresh alarm 
arising from anonymous letters to the general, and 
we were, therefore, required to be exceedingly vigilant. 
He had hardly left when a Mexican came groaning to 
our door, severely stabbed and cut in the head. I 
have learned enough Mexican to understand from his 
statements that the native thieves (ladrones) were 
robbing his house and maltreating his family, but as 
we make it a rule to let these people settle their own 
difficulties we directed him to go at once to the Alcalde. 
The first night of our arrival a young woman was 
stabbed to death immediately in front of our quarters, 
and lay on the pavement until ten o'clock the next 
day. We were fortunately able to prove that it was 
the act of a Mexican. These disturbances made us 
feel quite uneasy — we feared that before morning 
there would be a general alarm, but nothing happened, 
all was quiet this morning and so continued through 
the day. I have been confined to my quarters most 
of the time in consequence of the absence of Colonel 
Smith — the order requiring that one of the field 
ofiicers of each battaHon be always present with it. 
General Worth and staff with all the senior officers 
called in great state upon the Bishop, who is repre- 



1 68 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

sen ted as a venerable, liberal, and highly accomplished 
old gentleman. The call was ceremoniously returned 
in a few hours. The courtesy which we are showing 
to these oflScials is certainly good pohcy, for if we can 
only get the clergy on our side peace must soon ensue. 
Their influence, which is unbounded, can alone con- 
trol the lower orders in this densely populated district. 
I have been in many of the stores this afternoon and 
made some few purchases. Ordinary articles of mer- 
chandise are very reasonable though imported goods 
are dear. A bottle of French brandy which could be 
had in New York for seventy-five cents costs two 
dollars here, and sperm candles are ten shillings per 
pound. Anything can be obtained here for money. 
The fruit market is admirable. . . . Everything is 
quiet this evening — no new cases of stabbing — I 
think all excitement is dying away. 

Our communications with the coast are so very 
uncertain that I am likely to get a large packet for 
you before I have an opportunity to send it off. 

May i8 The inhabitants are fast losing 

their false impressions and becoming reconciled to us. 
The more I see of this city the more I admire it. It 
is kept exceedingly clean • — the streets which are all 
admirably paved with square blocks of granite look 
as if they were not only swept, but scoured. The side- 
walks are about five feet in breadth. The inhabitants 
early in the morning sweep in front of their houses, 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 169 

bringing from the interior the accumulated dirt of the 
previous twenty-four hours, placing it in heaps in the 
middle of the street. By sunrise the police carts are 
passing and all the filth is carried entirely out of the 
city. Another source of purification is the regular 
rains, which commence every day about half-past 
four and continue about three hours. The rest of the 
day is clear and the temperature delightful. This is 
invariable for several months in the year. The city 
is built on a rich and extensive plain not far from the 
base of the snow-crowned mountains, Orizaba, Popo- 
catepetl, and Volcano de Puebla, of which I have 
so often spoken and of which the eye never wearies. 
The horizon in every other direction is bounded by 
mountains of lesser magnitude. The streets are laid 
out at right angles. The houses which are admirably 
constructed in the old Spanish style are generally two 
stories in height, though often three. On some of the 
streets and around the main plaza the upper story 
projects over the sidewalk and is supported by arches 
resting on a heavy colonnade, often of the purest 
Doric order. The roofs are all flat, of stone or brick, 
covered with excellent cement. There are no eave 
gutters, but every few feet a long spout of tin ot stone 
often richly carved projects from the foot of the 
battlement throwing the water beyond the sidewalk. 
In the interior of each dwelUng is a square court, 
generally with a fine fountain playing in the centre of 



I70 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

a large, stone reservoir, around which are fruit and 
ornamental trees and great numbers of pots contain- 
ing the beautiful and ever-blooming plants of this 
glorious cUme — where there is one eternal spring. 
Here once might have been paradise, and still might 
be, were not man so vile. There are a great number 
of fine churches in the city, I should think at least 
twenty, and although the interiors of all which I have 
entered are richly ornamented with statuary, paintings 
and gilding they sink into insignificance compared 
with the Cathedral. Besides the " stove-pipe priests," 
whom I saw on the day of our arrival, many others 
are constantly passing to and fro in the streets. 
Dominicans in their white robes, Franciscans in their 
gray ones, with their deep hoods and rope girdles. I 
do not know of any nuns here. . . . 

May ig. All sorts of rumors have been flying about 
among us. One report is, and it seems to be the most 
authentic, that Santa Anna has abandoned San 
Miguel where he was fortifying with the intention 
of giving us battle, and has moved towards Mexico. 
It is said a portion of his troops — one thousand 
cavalry — have left him. On the fifteenth instant the 
presidential election took place throughout the coun- 
try. It was over here before we entered the city. 
Santa Anna, of course, is a prominent candidate, 
though he has lost much of his popularity, and it is 
thought will be defeated. It is even reported here 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 171 

this afternoon that Herrera, the peace candidate, is 
elected. I doubt it — for it could not be known yet, 
if it were so, as each state or department, as with us, 
makes up its returns, which I believe are counted at 
the Capital. 

General Twiggs with his command is expected in 
two or three days. 

May 20. Very little news today. I regret that I 
am so much confined to the quarters that I cannot 
visit the forts about the town, from one of which the 
famous pyramid of Cholula, though several miles 
distant, is visible. ... A large quantity of govern- 
ment tobacco was seized today, worth at least one 
hundred thousand dollars. Tobacco here is a govern- 
ment monopoly — its growth confined to certain dis- 
tricts, its universal use by both sexes makes it a 
source of great revenue. 

May 21. . . . I have been to Fort Loretto today, 
which is built upon a hill some two hundred feet 
above the plain, and is about fifteen hundred yards 
to the east of the city, which it commands, and is itself 
commanded by the Church of Guadalupe. 

From it there is an exquisite view of the plain, city, 
and surrounding country. . . . The people here 
think Herrera is elected. I still doubt it. . . . 

Sunday, May 23. I attended the service in the 
Cathedral this morning. Worth and his staff were 
there among the crowded audience, who were kneeling 



172 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

on the marble floor during the gorgeous ceremonies, 
where everything is calculated to strike the senses not 
to persuade the reason. There are but few seats in 
any of the churches in this country, most of the wor- 
shipers kneeling in the body of the building, con- 
stantly repeating their prayers, crossing themselves, 
and beating their breasts during the chanting, appar- 
ently as humble and contrite as beings can be. 

May 2j. Nothing of interest has occurred today or 
yesterday. We hear thousands of reports about the 
Mexican forces to which I pay Httle attention. It 
appears certain, however, that they are assembhng 
a large force — twenty thousand it is said — in and 
about the Capital, though they are neither well 
armed nor disciplined. If we advance they will 
probably make a stand a few leagues this side of the 
City of Mexico. I still, however, strongly hope that 
negotiations for peace will be begun before we leave 
this place — though the prospect is darker than it 
was a few days since. The other division of the army 
under Twiggs left Jalapa Saturday and General Scott 
on Sunday, and are expected to arrive here on Friday. 
We shall then be over eight thousand strong. What 
an immense army to invade a populous country and 
conquer a nation! We may, in fact, be considered a 
forlorn hope I — always contending against desperate 
odds. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 173 

If fifty thousand men had landed at Vera Cruz, I 
don't believe there would have been a battle and we 
should now be in the City of Mexico or have already 
made peace. 

May 26. I am now so much confined to my quar- 
ters, not having left them in three days, that I see little 
of what is going on. All is quiet in the city though 
we are kept constantly on the alert by frequent reports 
of projected risings among the people, and a Mexican 
was detected yesterday night posting inflammatory 
handbills. Report says today that General Bravo 
at the head of sixteen thousand men is advancing 
from Mexico. That there is some movement in that 
quarter appears certain, probably they are fortifying 
some strong point on the road which they intend 
to hold. Our communications are now so uncer- 
tain with Vera Cruz that I think it exceedingly 
doubtful if this ever reaches you. I trust, however, 
you will receive it and if you do not hear again for 
months will attribute it to the proper cause, and con- 
sole yourself with the certainty that a heavy package 
is accumulating. ... It will be well hereafter not 
to draw any pay until you hear that I am in the land 
of the living at the close of the month for which you 
draw. I have just been privately told that a courier 
leaves in the morning and I expect to get this into his 
budget. I feel in closing these sheets that I am taking 
a long leave of you and my heart is heavy. . . . 



174 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

PUEBLA, 

May 27, 1847. 

As General Worth thought the opportunity a safe 
one, I sent you a packet yesterday which has been 
accumulating since the tenth instant. I begin again 
but with not the least idea when my letter will leave. 
Perfect quiet has reigned throughout the city for some 
days. Last night we heard that there is no army ad- 
vancing from Mexico as had been stated but that there 
is a force of twelve thousand at a strong point, El 
Penon, three leagues this side of the city. 

May 28. General Scott arrived today at one o'clock. 
Uncle Edmund is with him but I have not yet seen 
him. We changed our quarters at two o'clock today 
from one side of the city to the other. Later I will 
describe our position. Mem. — A beautiful Mexican 
girl, the niece of General Furlong, kissed her pretty 
hand repeatedly to me this evening whilst her carriage 
was standing near my quarters. Don't be jealous! 
I do not know her; she probably thought I was one 
of General Worth's staff — nevertheless, she is a very 
sweet young lady as I testified by my admiring looks. 

May 2g. General Twiggs with his division arrived 
today and I received several letters. . . . 

Monday, May 31. We hear from Mexico this eve- 
ning that Santa Anna has resigned all his offices and 
wishes to leave the country, in consequence of the 
strength of the peace party. He says, we are told, in 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 175 

his proclamation that personally and politically he is 
in the way of peace and therefore retires. He is a 
scamp and everything he does causes distrust, — 
but should the above prove true, I shall draw the very 
best auguries from it. If Herrera is President, or if 
Gomez Farrias and Rejou are in power, peace, sweet 
peace must follow. 

June I. I have a touch of rheumatism today in my 
foot; it is swollen some and very painful. It looks 
amazingly like gout, and I am so weak as to feel 
ashamed of it so have concealed it from all. I dined 
today with Uncle Edmund and in the afternoon took a 
long walk about the city examining the many curious 
things in the shops, of which none are, perhaps, 
more strange to our eyes than the equipments for 
horses. Grotesque spurs, bridles, harnesses, etc., rich 
with silver ornaments, tempted me to make up a box 
of curiosities to send home by the first opportimity. 
There are many hacks about the streets to be hired 
at a reasonable rate. They are drawn by mules and 
driven by postillions. The tails of the animals are 
enclosed in large, leathern bags, often ornamented and 
embossed with brass or silver — but whether they are 
worn to spare the modesty of the mules or the biped 
passengers I have not yet ascertained. After being 
well fatigued with our ramble and my rheumatic foot 
throbbing Hke the toothache, we, in company with 
Colonel Hitchcock who had joined us in the streets, 



176 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

adjourned to an ice cream shop for refreshment. By 
the bye, this is the first place in Mexico where I have 
found the ice cream good and well flavored — one 
shilling per glass. 

June 2. Have not left my quarters today except 
to attend parades. I have, however, heard this eve- 
ning that an extensive department, the Tierra Cali- 
ente, has pronounced for the Americans — that is for 
peace. Whether this be true or not, all the signs show 
that a large party among the Mexican people are in 
favor of a negotiation which must soon commence 
unless our apparent weakness, we being but a forlorn 
hope in the heart of a great nation, should induce their 
leaders to suppose they can crush us. A crisis is at 
hand and we shall either have desperate fighting or 
the yellow gentry must give up. Trist is here with 
the three million — but I can only allude to his opera- 
tions and our military dispositions, as it is an even 
chance that this will fall into the hands of the enemy 
as did the first mail sent from this place to Vera 
Cruz. 

June J. A mail will leave at daylight in the morning 
and my letter must be in the bag at dark. I was going 
to a regular bullfight this afternoon in the hope of 
seeing a Mexican matadore killed. Am I not a good 
fellow to give up such a pleasure to write to you ? 
The news still continues to prove that the peace party 
is gaining strength throughout the country, though 
before we get a peace I think we shall have one great 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 177 

battle. The signs are now that we shall advance in a 
few days and perhaps " revel in the Halls," before the 
end of the month. . . . 

[The remainder of this journal was brought from 
Mexico by Lieutenant Peck in February, 1848, five 
months after the death of the writer who fell mortally 
wounded at the battle of Molino del Rey, September 
8, 1847.] 

PUEBLA, 

June 4, 1847. 

My last letter went under the charge of a strong 
escort and I think will reach you — but I feel little 
encouragement to write now as it is very probable it 
will only be labor thrown away. . . . 

June g. I have been rather unwell for a week or 
two and yesterday while on review was taken sud- 
denly sick and compelled to leave the parade. I have 
a regular intermittent fever. Today is my well day 
and I am to cake a large dose of quinine tonight, which 
Dr. Satterlee thinks will cure me. How my head 
ached all last night! . . . Merrill whom I saw on 
the eighth is sick — looks like death and is wasted to 
a very skeleton — though he has no well defined 
disease. We hear that reenforcements are expected 
and General Scott says he will eat his Fotirth of July 
dinner in Mexico. The reports from the dty are very 
contradictory, and so far as the public are concerned 
are not to be relied upon. General Scott may have 
reliable information though I doubt it. 



178 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

June II. Last night when I went to bed I took 
twenty grains of quinine and went to sleep hoping 
that I should escape any more fever, but long before 
morning I waked half crazy, my teeth chattering, 
with a most tremendous ague followed by a fever and 
a headache that made all crack again. . . . My fever 
has now subsided and I feel tolerably well again though 
weak. In the midst of my paroxysm our chaplain 
called upon me and gave me a lecture from the text: 
" Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." . , . You 
ask me in one of your letters whether my statement of 
the number killed at Vera Cruz or the newspaper 
account, '* sixty-five," is correct. The sixty-five in- 
cludes all the wounded, many of the wounds being 
mere scratches. It is now said that twelve were 
killed, and I had put down the number ten. . . . 

Jufie 77. My birthday — I am forty years old. . . . 
An American can scarcely appreciate the glorious 
freedom and blessings of his native land unless he has 
been banished as I have for months where everything 
is stamped by ignorance, vice, and misery. . . . 

June 20. On General Court Martial for several 
days past. Feel well, though still very weak. We 
hear from all quarters that the Mexicans, more than 
twenty thousand strong, are prepared to oppose our 
march to the Capital. We must have at least one 
tremendous battle. Welcome the danger, welcome 
the toil, welcome the fierce conflict and the bloody 
field, if it will but close the war. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 179 

June 21. How sad and dreary the hours pass! 
All day upon a tedious court and nothing to interest 
us after the adjournment. The thousand lying 
rumors which are constantly circulated with regard to 
the enemy have ceased to excite the slightest attention. 
. . . One thing is certain, — there will in future be 
no more comfort in army life. Peace cannot bring 
back to us those pleasant western stations — they 
are lost to us forever. On our widely extended 
southern and western frontier will be many isolated 
posts — far, far from civilization — there it is to be 
feared our days wiU be passed in dreary banishment. 

June 23. As yet we have no certain news from the 
column advancing under General Cadwalader, but 
the Mexican rumors state that he has had a battle 
at La Hoya, in which the enemy's loss was two hun- 
dred and eighty in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 
and ours thirty. This is about the usual proportion — 
but I doubt the whole story. Lying is so universal 
here that I am almost afraid I shall fall into the habit 
myself. The Seventh Infantry moved yesterday into 
quarters near us, so I shall see my brother every day. 

June 24. Nothing new. Waiting for reenforce- 
ments. It is rumored that some secret negotiations 
are quietly going on. Nous verrons. We hear that 
General Pillow is at Vera Cruz — but have not learned 



i8o TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

the number of his troops. The report that agents are 
here negotiating with Mr. Trist has gained general 
credence. I have no doubt of it, but do not expect a 
favorable result. The Mexican Congress is soon to 
meet and all depends upon the spirit which animates 
its members. 

June 2g. Yesterday after coming from parade in 
the morning had a return of the ague and fever and 
passed a wretched day. My fever subsided towards 
evening, but by eleven o'clock I had another chill and 
passed a horrible night. The fever did not leave me 
until this morning. Two paroxysms of ague and fever 
in eighteen hours is rather tough. There has been 
much sickness in the army here, thirteen hundred 
having been on the report at one time. 

July 6. . . . Since my last writing the prospect of 
peace has much increased, the tone of the Mexican 
papers has altered in the last week — they have evi- 
dently endeavored to produce an impression on the 
public mind that peace is necessary, and as they are 
entirely controlled by those in authority it is evident 
that Santa Anna is trying to bring about a termination 
of the war. It matters not whether in this course of 
conduct he is swayed by the hope of getting hold of 
the " three million," or whether the fear of another 
defeat and the consequent loss of the Capital of the 
Aztecs weighs with him, certain it is that General 
Scott and Mr. Trist have received communications 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT i8i 

on this subject from the Mexican authorities, either 
through a secret agent sent to the city or through 
Mr. Bankhead the English resident minister — per- 
haps by both channels. Moreover we know that 
three commissioners have been nominated to meet 
those who have authority to act for our government. 
Nothing, however, can be done but by the authority 
of the Supreme Congress which commences its ses- 
sions day after tomorrow. If the peace party headed 
by the great One-legged can influence this turbulent 
popular assembly we may hope for favorable results. 
I am by no means sanguine in my hopes of a peace or 
even an armistice without much more bloodshed, and 
an entire change of policy in the conduct of the war. 
After every victory we are down upon our knees suing 
for peace, and as yet, although we have defeated their 
armies, the Mexican people have not felt the horrors 
of war, — but on the contrary have actually profited 
by it. Nothing but vague rumors are heard from the 
column advancing under General Pillow. 

July 7. General Scott says that the chances for 
peace are three to one and many sanguine spirits here 
are rejoicing in the prospect. The advance of Pillow's 
column arrived this evening bringing the long, anx- 
iously expected mail, which contained yours of the 
eleventh and twenty-fourth of May. . . . We in the 
Fifth are all much shocked by the death of Captain 
Whipple who breathed his last in the Castle of Perote. 



1 82 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

He was deservedly the most popular officer in the 
regiment, and will be remembered by his companions 
with afifectionate regret. . . . Colonel Mcintosh ar- 
rived with the command yesterday; I was glad to see 
him. He appears in fine health. . . . Our informa- 
tion, though not of recent date, gives much cause to 
fear for the officers of our regiment in Detroit. Steven- 
son, who wiU be promoted by Whipple's death, it is 
said, is in wretched health, and cannot long survive. 
NorveU is considered in a hopeless state, and poor, 
nervous, irritable Whitall has entirely lost the use of 
one of his arms and is so miserable that he cannot 
leave the house. I sent you a letter by an express 
Mexican who was hired at a high price to carry it to 
Vera Cruz. I paid two dollars for my share, but am 
doubtful whether it ever reaches you — such uncer- 
tain chances are all we can have for the future. It is 
now the twenty-fourth of July, so now you see from 
mere hopelessness I have discontinued my journal. 
During some days we have all thought that a peace 
was about to be made — the news from Mexico and 
every deduction from common sense warranted the 
conclusion. It seems evident that if xmder existing 
circumstances, with their armies defeated, a great 
portion of their country in our possession and ten 
thousand of our troops within six days' march of their 
Capital, they refuse to negotiate, they will continue 
to do so until their entire country has been conquered, 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 183 

which will take years, blood and treasure. Today all 
our fond anticipations are destroyed. Their Congress 
has dissolved without any definite action on the sub- 
ject, and Santa Anna's proclamation for the defence 
of the city has reached us. Does the fool think he 
can keep ten thousand Yankees from entering it? 
True, many will be killed in the battle under the walls 
or in the streets, but Victory will never desert our 
ranks to consort with these filthy Mexicans, unless 
her taste is much depraved. I now despair of leaving 
this country for years. Bitter, most bitter is the con- 
viction that such is to be my fate, and I can but wish 
that none were united to me and compelled to be 
miserable on my account. . . . Alas, the chance is 
I shall never see you again ! 

We are not to leave Puebla until after General 
Pierce arrives and where our course will be directed 
after the fall of the Capital, no one can tell. There 
is still much sickness in the army — my health is, 
however, perfectly reestablished, though I am like 
most others here, extremely thin. Ruggles is quite 
sick. Have I ever mentioned that he is writing a 
history of the war ? Won't it be a literary curiosity ? 
Colonel Mcintosh is before a Court of Inquiry on his 
conduct while commanding the escort and train from 
Vera Cruz to the National Bridge. The General has 
refused to give him the command of a brigade and 
as he has not assumed that of his regiment, he is just 



1 84 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

at present nobody. Poor old man! he should never 
have been permitted to come here. . . . 

July 2g. We are in Puebla still and no day fixed 
for advance, though General Scott says he wiU show 
us the Capital by the eleventh of August. Day before 
yesterday a brigade under General P. Smith was or- 
dered to the rear on the Orizaba road to meet and 
support General Pierce whom it is reported is threat- 
ened by four thousand of the enemy, and yesterday 
we learned that General Pierce is not on the Orizaba 
road, but has probably by this time reached Perote. 
Today we hear that General Smith has changed his 
direction to La Hoya at which strong defile they may 
possibly have a fight with the Mexicans. We cannot 
march until they arrive, and we are all anxious to see 
them and the mail they will bring. When on duty 
as field officer of the day, I have a wide circuit of 
guards and quarters to visit, located in every part of 
the city. 

Several of the regiments are quartered in monas- 
teries, of which there are at least a dozen in the city. 
They are much alike in appearance; very large stone 
buildings constructed in the most massive manner 
and entirely unlike anything in our country. I be- 
lieve I am getting into a scrape by attempting a 
description of these strange, indescribable houses. To 
each one is attached a large church rich with statuary, 
paintings, gilding, and numerous votive offerings. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 185 

These churches all have domes and tall spires which 
contain from eight to thirty-two large bells. Imagine 
what a clatter there is when they are all ringing 
together, which is not unusual, particularly on any 
favorite Saint's day. The main building of the 
Monastery of San Francisco — they are all named 
after saints — is a succession of rectangles, two or 
three stories high, surrounding areas or paved courts 
in the centre of which plays a never-ceasing fountain 
and in which are planted fruit and flowering trees and 
shrubs. Around each area are broad balconies sup- 
ported on heavy, stone arches, into which open the 
dormitories and other apartments. These dormi- 
tories or cells are usually about fifteen feet square, 
having but one window. Between these rooms in the 
interior of the building are long, narrow halls, badly 
Ughted and ventilated, branching off to the different 
suites of cells in the various rectangles. On aU these 
halls open rooms as they do in one of our large hotels; 
halls and rooms seem to be never ending and form a 
perfect labyrinth. The main galleries and apartments 
contain hundreds of oil paintings. Around one of the 
areas I counted forty-eight pictures, eight by twelve 
feet in size, with figures the size of life, all of a re- 
ligious character. In some, gods, angels, men, and 
devils are strangely mingled. Among so many paint- 
ings there must be, of course, a number which are 
very indifferent, but others are well worthy of study 



1 86 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

and will bear criticism. The kitchens, stables, and 
various offices are arranged in the basements. To the 
San Franciscan Monastery there is a large garden 
tastefully arranged, with a stone summer house in the 
centre surmounted by a Moorish dome. On the ex- 
terior of these buildings there are few or no windows, 
the massive walls and heavy gates completely cutting 
off the inmates from the world. It had a pecuHar, old- 
world-like appearance to me when I first saw the 
monks (the lazy drones), in their long robes and deep 
hoods, noiselessly creeping through the dimly lighted 
galleries, I was officer of the day yesterday, and 
while on my rounds last night, a little after twelve, in 
passing through one of the back streets I was attracted 
by the sound af music accompanied by a strange kind 
of wailing which issued from the open door of rather 
an inferior house. I rode up to it and was much 
struck by the strange scene. The room was in a blaze 
of light from many candles. In its centre was a bier 
on which was extended the corpse of a girl apparently 
about seventeen, dressed in all the finery the family 
possessed, with flowers in her bosom, hair, and hands, 
and surrounded by gilded ornaments, probably bor- 
rowed from the churches. In one corner of the room 
was a group of old women, perfect hags, squatted 
round a furnace where a feast was cooking. They 
looked like so many witches round a cauldron. In the 
opposite comer was a display of liquors and drinking 



I 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 187 

cups, which the appearance of the inmates proved had 
not been suffered to stand idle. Immediately round 
the corpse were several couples dancing a fandango 
to the merry fiddle, while ever and anon the witches 
round the cauldron, with their shrill, cracked voices, 
howled a chant in the Indian, Tlasculan-language. 
The whole was evidently a strange commingling of the 
Romish superstitions and the ancient Indian funeral 
rites. . . . 

August 6. . . . I hardly think you will ever see 
these pages, — or the hand which guides the pen may 
be cold in death before they reach you. . . . One of 
the most brilliant affairs of the war occurred at the 
village of San Juan, which is about five miles from 
the National road to the north of Ojo de Agua. Gen- 
eral C. F. Smith sent Captain Ruff with a party of 
eighty-two mounted rifles on a scout to this place. 
On entering the village he was fired upon from the 
houses and a church where two hundred Infantry and 
one hundred guerillas were strongly posted. Ruff 
immediately dismounted his men and leaving twenty- 
four with the horses led the rest to the attack — 
breaking into the houses sword in hand. The Mexi- 
cans were soon routed and fled leaving forty- three 
dead, and it is said over fifty wounded. Their stand- 
ard was captured and the public stores and arms in 
the place destroyed. Captain Ruff took no prisoners, 
and in this short but bloody fight lost but one man. 



1 88 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

The order for the march to the Capital is published. 
The First division under Twiggs leaves on Saturday 
the eighth; the Second under Quitman the next day; 
ours, Worth's, on Monday the tenth, and the rest on 
Tuesday the eleventh. Altogether it is a feeble com- 
mand for the work before it. Ten thousand troops to 
conquer a city containing near three hundred thou- 
sand inhabitants. We shall do it, but perhaps pay 
dearly for it. I think within ten days we shall have 
reached within striking distance, have made our dis- 
positions, and commenced the attack. . . . 

August 8. I have been all day preparing for the 
march which commences at daylight tomorrow. I 
have been too busy to think and I am glad it is so, as 
I almost despair when I reflect upon the destitute 
situation in which you wiU be left, with the three 
children dependent upon you, should I fall in the 
coming battle. I shall certainly be much exposed, 
being in the leading battalion to Worth's division, 
and we confidently expect to commence the attack. 
I hope, however, to escape unscathed for which, more 
for your sake than my own, I fervently pray. 

General Scott with Uncle on his staff went forward 
this morning. The entire army is to unite at some 
point on the route, when in all probability our division 
will lead. I shall try every night to record the inci- 
dents of the march as they will interest you if they 
ever reach you. About twenty-five hundred sick are 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 189 

to be left here. Colonel Childs remains as command- 
ing officer and governor. Dr. Wright has today been 
attached to our battalion, so I am pretty sure if I am 
to have a leg cut off that it will be done scientifically. 

August p. At four this morning we arose and im- 
mediately after breakfast loaded the wagons and at 
six in the morning our battaUon leading the Infantry 
of Worth's division marched out of Puebla. We fol- 
lowed a company of Dragoons and Duncan's light 
battery. Our route lay over the valley of Puebla to 
the right of Popocatepetl, our course northwest. The 
morning was clear and cold, as they always are in this 
climate, but as the sun approaches the zenith it be- 
comes hot, though not oppressive as it is with you on 
a sultry summer day. We have marched all day be- 
tween cultivated fields principally covered with com 
which is standing in every stage of growth, from the 
young shoots a few inches high to fields of waving 
green with the ear nearly fit for harvest. The scenery 
on every side was beautiful in full view of the sublime 
mountains, their white, shining summits buried for 
thousands of feet in eternal snow and ice. On the left 
of the extensive plain dotted with white haciendas, 
each w^ith its dome and tall spire, is the pyramid of 
Cholula and the extensive ruins of that large city. At 
half-past twelve we encamped at Aqua Freato. The 
camp is full of rumors in which, however, I place no 



igo TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

faith. In the first place it is reported that Santa Anna 
has been killed in consequence of his correspondence 
with General Scott; in the second place, that the 
Mexican trobps are fighting among themselves in the 
city under various opposing generals, and that we 
shall enter the Capital without a battle. The opinions 
on the subject are various, but my voice is still for 
war. I believe we shall have a severe, a desperate 
fight. Towards night we could see the smoke of 
General Quitman's camp far in our advance. 

August 10. Marched at seven, the country becom- 
ing richer and more thickly inhabited as we approached 
the mountains. AU along the road, particularly at 
the watering places, the Mexican men and women 
were ready to receive us with various articles of mar- 
keting, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. About 
twelve we arrived at the town of San Martin where 
we are quartered for the night. There are several 
churches, plazas, and fountains, and I should think 
from fifteen hundred to two thousand inhabitants. 
We had a strange and ridiculous scene this after- 
noon. 

The main plaza was crowded with Mexican market 
people, our soldiers mingled among them, when some 
unaccountable fear produced an alarm, and they all ran 
in the most admirable confusion. The women with 
their hampers of truck and jars of milk and pulque 
tumbling over each other, scattering everything as 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 191 

they scattered themselves in all directions. The 
drams beat and all got under arms. Everything is 
quiet now and no one knows what caused the stam- 
pede. Adios. 

August II. Marched from San Martin at half-past 
five. The morning was fine but it had rained during 
the night and the road was quite muddy. General 
Worth was informed that General Alvarez was a short 
distance on our left with fifteen thousand men, and 
some changes were consequently made in our order of 
march. A section of artillery was sent to the rear, 
the train closed up on the First Brigade, and the 
Second under Clarke immediately followed. Our road 
which was excellent passed through a rich and pictur- 
esque country rising rapidly towards the summit 
level between Vera Craz and Mexico, occasionally 
pitching suddenly into a deep ravine or verdant valley. 
After marching ten miles we descended a steep hill to 
the bridge of Temelucan, a fine stone work over a 
rapid mountain stream. Here commenced the Pass of 
Rio Frio, an extremely strong defile which the Mexi- 
cans would have defended, if they were a brave people. 
At this place Quitman was fired upon yesterday and 
had one man killed. Just as the rain began at three 
o'clock, we reached the hacienda and tavern of Rio 
Frio, kept by a German and situated at the crossing 
of a mountain stream. We had marched nineteen 
miles and are now half way from Puebla to Mexico. 



192 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

The rear guard did not come up until dark. No news 
from the advance. . . . 

August 12. We marched from Rio Frio at six. The 
weather was very cold as it is always in this elevated 
region, though under a tropical sun. The broad, ex- 
cellent road ran through a dense pine and cedar forest. 
In two hours we reached the summit of the mountain, 
ten thousand seven hundred feet above the sea. On 
our right and left were still loftier mountains towering 
high above us in the clouds. The change of vegetation 
from the tropical plants to those of the Arctic regions 
was distinctly perceptible as we advanced. The road 
plunged rapidly toward the plain and after descending 
a few miles the great valley of Mexico broke upon our 
view, a most glorious spectacle, which we beheld from 
the same point where Cortes first gazed upon it. Far 
to the right scarcely perceptible was the great city, 
and all over the vast plain spread out before us like a 
map were lakes, towns, haciendas, and large culti- 
vated fields. We dipped into the valley by a winding 
road so steep as to be barely practicable for our 
wagons. At Cordova, just before we reached the plain, 
we found General Quitman and Shields with Tom 
Williams, General Scott's aid. From them we heard 
that General Scott was at Agotla six miles from El 
Penon, a hill strongly fortified eight miles from the 
city, and that the engineers with a part of Twigg's 
division were reconnoitring that approach to the 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 193 

city. Quitman's division were encamped at Buena 
Vista [see map], a hacienda where the road forks, the 
right branch going direct to the city by the right of 
Lake Chalco, and the left by a longer route round the 
lake. We were ordered to the left and before night 
reached the town of Chalco, a dirty place nearly sur- 
rounded by marsh and mud. 

August J J, Chalco. We have not moved today. A 
reconnoissance has been going on around El Penon 
which is found to be an exceedingly strong work, so 
that if any other approach to the city can be found, 
no assault .will be made upon it. It is reported that 
the Mexicans have between thirty and forty thousand 
troops to oppose our weak ten thousand. Our task is 
truly desperate, and many of us will, of course, be 
sacrificed before we take the city. Pillow's division 
arrived this afternoon. Boats have been collected 
today to enable us to cross Lake Chalco, and thus 
avoid the strong positions of El Penon and Guada- 
lupe. About fifty scows have been found here which 
will carry forty men each and it is thought as many 
more are at Agotla. 

August 14. Means have been discovered to turn 
El Penon by land. A simultaneous attack is to be 
made by Worth's and Twigg's divisions on a place 
called Mexicalingo where it is supposed there are 
seventeen guns. In a reconnoissance yesterday, Lieu- 
tenant Schuyler Hamilton, Aid to General Scott, and 



194 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

grandson of Alexander Hamilton, was desperately 
wounded by a lance. He was brought in this evening 
and it is thought he may recover. 

August 15. It has been decided to abandon entirely 
the route by El Penon and advance by the road to the 
left of Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco. We go to victory 
or death, — we can only be defeated by annihilation. 
Our spirits and courage are good, we have confidence 
in ourselves, and confidence in our generals. We left 
Chalco at two o'clock and proceeded round the head 
of the lake through vast corn fields. After marching 
five miles we struck the base of the mountain on the 
south of the valley, and after winding along its rugged 
side over a narrow, rough road for three miles, we 
bivouacked at a httle village called Totalco. This 
morning we marched at seven continuing along the 
base of the mountain over the broken road with the 
valley and lakes on our right. We passed through 
several small villages on the marshy bank of Lake 
Xochamilco, which were completely embowered in 
olive orchards, the humble cottages built under the 
spreading branches. Far in our advance we could 
see San Augustine, Palapa, and other towns in the 
neighborhood of the city, and at one point a solitary 
spire of Mexico was visible. At eleven we were halted 
by an order brought from the rear by General Scott's 
Aide-de-Camp, who stated that a force of some five 
thousand of the enemy had shown themselves to the 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 195 

left of Chalco. I do not like to criticize the acts of 
the general, but think this a bad move. Having de- 
cided upon one point of attack, it seems to me we 
should have pushed on without delay, giving Santa 
Anna no time to strengthen his defences at a place 
where he evidently has not expected us. We are now 
bivouacked at San Gregario in an olive grove. This 
afternoon some few of the enemy have been seen by 
our pickets and tomorrow I think, if we advance, they 
must meet us. We are about fifteen miles from the 
city and must come upon some of their advanced 
batteries in the next ten or twelve miles. One should 
put his house in order with the prospect of death 
before him. . . . 

August ij. I am tired almost to death, but must 
say one word before I He down. We marched this 
morning and immediately saw the enemy in our ad- 
vance on the hills. Our battalion was sent forward 
to disperse them, and soon received their fire, — we, 
however, rushed upon them and they fled. Our labor 
has been immense, climbing over precipices, through 
broken, craggy ground all day. We lost one poor fellow 
which was all the injury we received. After passing 
Xochimilco (pronounced Hokamilco) which we left on 
our right we saw a heavy force of infantry and cavalry 
on a point near the termination of the causeway which 
leads from that town to San Augustine. We, how- 
ever, disappointed them by taking a crossroad when 



196 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

they had made every preparation for receiving us the 
other way. We slowly approached San Augustine 
which the enemy abandoned. In our skirmishes a 
few Mexicans were shot and the Governor of Mexico, 
who was heading some troops it is said, was mortally 
wounded. We entered the beautiful town of San 
Augustine about four in the afternoon, Santa Anna 
had left it a few hours before telling the inhabitants 
he could do nothing for them now but should if we 
had given him twenty-four hours more. To prove 
his kind feelings towards them he took every ounce 
of bread in the town to feed his troops. We advance 
again tomorrow and shall meet more serious opposi- 
tion which must increase every step to the city. " One 
leg " vows to defend the Capital to the last extremity. 
I picked up a curious proclamation signed by him, 
written yesterday, to induce our men to desert. I 
shall enclose it in this. I saw Uncle Edmund today — 
he must needs come to the advance to try to get shot ! 

August 18. About nine we advanced from San 
Augustine on the direct road to Mexico via San An- 
tonio. A squadron of Dragoons, supported by our 
battalion, moved forward with the engineers. Major 
Larkin Smith and Captain James L. Mason, to recon- 
noitre. The Dragoons in our front pushed forward 
rapidly and were a few himdred yards in advance of 
us when a heavy piece of artillery was discharged at 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 197 

them. Captain Thornton was instantly killed and 
the guide wounded. This occurred at ten in the morn- 
ing not more than three hundred yards from where I 
am now. All day an extensive reconnoissance has been 
going on. I only came in at sunset. The result of our 
observations shows that the enemy are strongly 
posted, that the ground to the right and left is im- 
practicable to artillery or Dragoons. It is possible 
we may turn their position by their right flank, and 
carry their batteries in reverse, but it must be done 
by infantry alone and against great odds. I think 
we shall try it tomorrow and we may have a bloody 
day. I am becoming anxious for the desperate effort. 
We are fairly committed — Mexico must fall or we 
must aU find a grave between this and the city. . . . 

Tacubaya, 
August 22, 1847. 

I hardly know how to commence a description of 
the events of the last three days. My brain is whirling 
from the long continued excitement and my body sore 
with bruises and fatigue — but I will try to get into 
my usual humdrum style and record things as they 
happened. On the nineteenth we still lay near San 
Antonio. In the morning a force composed of Twigg's 
and Pillow's divisions was ordered far to the right on 
the San Angel road. Quitman held San Augustine 
and we kept the enemy in check at San Antonio. Our 



198 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

battalion strengthened by two companies from the 
Sixth, under Captain Hoffman, and two from the 
Eighth, under Brevet Major Montgomery, went far 
to the right reconnoitring. We passed over the same 
route as on the eighteenth but took no pains to con- 
ceal our march among the lava crags and ravines as 
before, but showed ourselves to the enemy wishing 
them to believe we still threatened their position at 
San Antonio. About twelve the enemy's guns at 
Contreras, or San Magdalene, opened fire upon Twigg's 
and Pillow's advancing column. They were about 
four miles from us over the rugged ground we occupied 
and were ascending the side of the mountain. The 
firing soon became tremendous — every flash and 
every peal was plainly perceptible to us, where we lay 
in reach of the guns of San Antonio. Soon the crash 
of small arms mingled with the incessant roar of ar- 
tillery, the firing continuing for hours without our 
being able to perceive that our forces gained an inch. 
About five we, the light battalion, retired to our 
position on the San Antonio road. As the night closed 
in dark and rainy the firing ceased at Contreras and 
we in the camp of the first division were under in- 
tense excitement to know the result of the battle. 
Our wagons were packed and we all stood in the muddy 
road without fires or food, miserably fatigued and 
uncomfortable, but intensely anxious to hear from 
the battle. Most of us finally settled down in the 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 199 

mud and rain, convinced that as we heard nothing 
we were not defeated. I was too anxious about my 
brother and companions to sleep. It was midnight 
before we heard. I then learned that the firing was 
mostly from the enemy — that our operations were 
entirely for position — that two officers, Captain 
Hanson of the Seventh and Lieutenant J. P. Johnston, 
second artillery, had been killed and our old friend 
Callender badly wounded in both legs, — he com- 
manded a battery of moimtain howitzers, — that the 
ground was broken, utterly impracticable for cavalry 
or field artillery, and that at daybreak the enemy's 
fortifications were to be assaulted by our infantry. 
Early on the morning of the twentieth, the attack 
was made and the works carried at the point of the 
bayonet, scarcely a gim being fired. We took fifteen 
hundred prisoners and twenty-two pieces of artillery 
among which were the guns captured by Santa Anna 
at Buena Vista. As soon as the result was known to 
General Worth, the Second Brigade of his division 
with our battahon were put in motion to endeavor 
to turn the position at San Antonio. For two hours 
we ran over the rocks moving by a flank, the enemy in 
a heavy column marching parallel to us and almost in 
gun shot, until the head of the Fifth Infantry pierced 
their line and the fight began at a quarter before 
twelve. It will be entirely impossible for me to give 
any lucid description of this terrible battle. It ex- 



200 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

tended over a large space and I could see but little of 
it, being too hotly engaged to notice much beyond the 
sphere of my own duties. The point where our troops 
pierced the retreating column of the enemy was on 
the road from San Antonio to Mexico near a hacienda 
where the left of their line of defences terminated. 
Our battalion when the firing began must have been 
near a half mile to the rear. The " double quick " 
was sounded and the whole advanced at a rim. We 
soon reached the road and turned in hot pursuit. This 
road is a broad, stone causeway with corn fields and 
pastures on each side of it, divided by broad ditches 
filled with water from three to six feet deep, — the 
corn tall and very thick. It was soon seen as we rushed 
along the road that the enemy were only retreating 
to a fortified position which constituted their second 
line of defences at Churubusco. You will hear this 
called San Pablo and by another name which I can- 
not recall. 

Along the road to this point I had seen no wounded 
or dead American, though on either hand and in the 
road were many dead Mexicans. I saw one colonel 
lying in the ditch shot through the heart. We had 
advanced on the road less than a mile when we were 
ordered into the fields to assault the right of the 
enemy's position, — I am speaking of our battalion. 
We soon formed line in an open field behind the 
thick corn in our advance. The escopet balls were 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 201 

whistling over our heads, though at long range, and 
occasionally a cannon ball sang through the corn as it 
tore its path along in our front. 

At this time the battle was fiercely contested on 
our left and front, but I did not, and do not now know 
what regiments were engaged. It must have been 
about half-past twelve. Immediately in front of us, 
at perhaps five hundred yards, the roll of the Mexican 
fire exceeded anything I have ever heard. The din 
was most horrible, the roar of cannon and musketry, 
the screams of the wounded, the awful cry of terrified 
horses and mules, and the yells of the fierce combatants 
all combined in a sound as hellish as can be conceived. 
We had not from our battalion as yet fired a gun, 
but now rapidly advanced, all apparently eager to 
bring the contest to a hand to hand combat in which 
we knew our superiority. 

We could not tell what was before us — whether 
the enemy were in regular forts, behind breast- 
works, or delivering their fire from the cover af- 
forded by the hedges and ditches which bordered the 
road and fields, — all was hidden by the tall corn. 

We soon came out of it into a crossroad near some 
small houses, where we were exposed to a dreadful 
cross fire, which could scarcely be resisted. Many 
had fallen and the battalion was much scattered and 
broken. The grape round shot and musketry were 
sweeping over the ground in a storm which strewed 



20 2 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

it with the dead and dying. I found it extremely diffi- 
cult to make the men stand or form, but finally suc- 
ceeded with my own company which was at once 
ordered to charge under my brave Lieutenant Farrelly. 
I was occupied reorganizing the three other companies, 
the colonel and many of the officers and men not 
appearing when arose the most fearful time of the 
battle. My men were just formed and I had ordered 
the charge which I was about to lead, when the dread- 
ful cry came from the left and rear that we were re- 
pulsed. A rush of men and officers in a panic followed, 
running over and again breaking my little command. 
I, however, succeeded in disentangling them from the 
mass, composed of a great portion of the Eighth, 
Sixth, and Fifth Infantry, with some artillery. I 
shouted that we were not repulsed — to charge — 
and the day would be ours. Our colonel, C. F. Smith, 
now joined us, and the cry throughout was: " For- 
ward!" 

Up to this time we were not aware that the other 
divisions of the army were engaged, but we now 
learned that Twiggs and others were pressing them 
on the left and had been fighting them an hour or 
more. Before this we had discovered we were under 
the fire of two forts, one a bastion front tete du pont 
flanking, and being flanked by a larger work, built 
round an extensive convent. Now as the whole army 
shouted and rushed to the assault, the enemy gave 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 203 

way, retreating as best they could to Mexico. They 
were pursued by all, hundreds being shot down in the 
retreat, our Dragoons charging after them to the guns 
at the gate of the city, where they were stayed by a 
tremendous discharge from the battery covering the 
entrance. Three officers, Captains Kearney and 
McReynolds and Lieutenant Graham, were here 
wounded, and Major Mills of the Fifteenth Infantry 
killed. 

As soon as the battle terminated and the pursuit 
ceased, I went back, tired and sore as I was, to collect 
the dead and dying of our battalion and did not re- 
turn until night. The field presented an awful spec- 
tacle — the dead and the wounded were thickly 
sprinkled over the ground — the mangled bodies 
of the artillery horses and mules actually blocking up 
the road and filling the ditches. How sickening was 
the sight after all the excitement of the contest was 
past! In my own company I found two dead and 
fifteen wounded. Lieutenant Farrelly received two 
shots, one in the breast and one in the arm. In the 
battahon there was in the aggregate fifty killed and 
wounded out of about two hundred and twenty en- 
gaged; in our entire division, three hundred and 
thirty-six; in the whole army, one thousand fifty- two. 
Seventy-four officers were killed and wounded, thirteen 
killed on the field. Our own particular friends are un- 
hurt. I thank Cjod for my escape which I now think 



204 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

wonderful. I was in the thickest of the fight for more 
than an hour, and my feet by grape and cannon were 
twice knocked from under me. 

The loss of the enemy must be immense. We have 
taken between two and three thousand prisoners, 
seven generals, and thirty-seven large guns. Their 
officers say, in killed, missing, and captured, they 
have lost over five thousand. They acknowledge 
that they had twenty, some say thirty thousand, in 
the fight. It was a wonderful victory and undoubtedly 
the greatest battle our country has ever fought, and I 
hope will bring peace. At all events, the great city 
is at our mercy, and we could enter it at any hour. 

On the morning of the twenty-first I was ordered 
to take charge of some funeral parties collecting and 
burying the dead. This was a sad, a solemn service — 
though in our haste we performed no burial rites — 
paid no honors — but laid our dead in the earth in 
the bloody garments in which they died, most of them 
on the spot where they fell. Indeed many were so 
torn and mangled by the shot it was entirely impossi- 
ble to move them. In searching the ground for bodies 
I gained a very accurate knowledge of the field or I 
could not have made the rude sketch above. [He refers 
to a little map of the field which he had drawn.] In 
it I pretend to no accuracy except so far as the various 
points lie with regard to each other. At the convent, 
around which one fortification is constructed, I saw 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 205 

the Mexican prisoners and some fifty of our deserters 
who were taken in arms against us. The Mexican 
position was exceedingly strong and I can hardly 
understand how we carried it when I reflect that we 
had only between six and seven thousand engaged 
and they, at the least, estimate twenty thousand. 

I returned to camp about twelve and found every- 
thing in preparation for a march as we all supposed 
to attack the city — but we moved off to the left to 
Tacubaya, where we found General Scott's head- 
quarters, and learned that a flag of truce had been 
received from Santa Anna preparatory to negotiations 
for peace, and that we were not to enter the city. 
There was much muttering and grumbling throughout 
the army when it was known that these were to be 
the fruits of all our fatigue and fighting. I supped 
with Uncle Edmund and slept in a monk's cell in an 
old convent. 

On the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of August 
negotiations were going on, and finally on the twenty- 
fifth an armistice was concluded for the purpose of 
making a peace. By the armistice we are excluded 
from the city and either general can terminate it by 
giving forty-eight hours' notice. This I fear may be 
the result, though perhaps Santa Anna may be com- 
pelled to make a peace to save himself from his own 
coimtrymen who wiU certainly kill him if deserted by 
his troops, as he surely will be if we fight again. The 



2o6 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

money which he will receive from us may enable him 
to declare himself dictator and maintain a force with 
which he can defy all the Pronunciamentos in Mexico. 

My notes have been written in detached portions, 
having been constantly interrupted by duty and a 
thousand annoyances, and I am fully aware that the 
preceding pages, although they may interest you, are 
an exceedingly lame and imperfect account of our 
operations. It is now the twenty-eighth of August 
and I have as yet seen none of the official reports; 
however, for your gratification I can tell you that I 
am favorably mentioned in the report, as Uncle Ed- 
mund tells me, and that I have been spoken of in 
high terms at headquarters. He says I will now get 
the brevet which I earned long ago. This, of course, 
is for you alone. I have not much hope of so desirable 
a result as I have no political influence to aid me and 
would not resort to it if I had. My glorious brother, 
I learn, has a paragraph especially dedicated to his 
praise in Plympton's report. He fully deserves any- 
thing complimentary which can be said of him. 

Commissioners were appointed on the twenty-sixth 
by Santa Anna, who met Mr. N. P. Trist on the eve- 
ning of the twenty-seventh. Mr. Trist was accom- 
panied by Major A. Van Buren whom, I presume, 
acted as his secretary. I am afraid Trist " has more 
cloth cut out than he can make up in his shop," but 
sincerely hope he may effect a treaty. At headquarters 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 207 

the utmost confidence is felt as to the result. They 
met last evening when the basis of the proposed treaty- 
was submitted by Mr. Trist. They have met again 
today at some village a few miles from here. May 
God prosper and speed their consultations! 

On the twenty-sixth our wagons were sent to the 
city for supplies, — money, subsistence, etc. — but 
were sent back from the gate, though the armistice 
declares there shall be no obstruction to our procuring 
supplies from the Capital. General Scott, of course, 
was much astonished and immediately ordered a 
termination to the truce, — but an apology came from 
Santa Anna almost before the words had passed his 
lips. Yesterday they went again, conducted by a 
quarter-master in citizen's dress; and escorted by 
Mexican lancers, they reached the main plaza with- 
out any annoyance, — but in moving from that place 
to some point beyond, they were attacked by the 
mob, stones and sticks being used. Several of the 
teamsters were wounded and the whole train driven 
from the city in double-quick time. Two wagons were 
lost in spite of the Mexican ofiicers and soldiers who, 
it is said, did all in their power to protect our men and 
wagons — even it is said killing some of the mob. 
Many of the Mexican women were engaged in this 
row which was undoubtedly an attempt at a revolu- 
tion, the cry being heard throughout the crowd: 
" Death to Santa Anna ! Death to the Yankees ! " This 



2o8 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

ridiculous affair has again come near to terminate the 
negotiations, but I am told it is now adjusted and 
whatever we require is to be sent from the city to us. 

We are in a strange situation — a conquering army 
on a hill overlooking an enemy's Capital, which is 
perfectly at our mercy, yet not permitted to enter it, 
and compelled to submit to all maimer of insults from 
its corrupt inhabitants. I am much afraid that peace 
cannot be made, but this satisfaction remains to us, 
that the world must see that, though always victori- 
ous, we have ever extended the olive branch, always 
ready to sheathe the sword. 

I passed an exceedingly interesting hour this morn- 
ing with Colonel Hitchcock in listening to the transla- 
tions of many letters from a large mail coming from 
the Capital, which was captured on the twenty-second. 
They were from generals, aids, husbands, wives, sweet- 
hearts, indeed, all classes. Many of them were written 
in a most beautiful style, all in a tone of utter heart- 
broken despondency. Several stated that the troops 
opposed to us amounted to thirty-two thousand, that 
they were utterly routed and dispirited, and no longer 
able to oppose us. Some of them are admirable and 
accurate descriptions of the battles, evidently written 
by accomplished soldiers who well understand the 
subject. I recoUect an expression in one written by 
an ofl&cer of high rank. Speaking of the assault at 
Contreras, he says: "When the rain and darkness 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 209 

came on at night I supposed the Americans would 
retire to sleep, but they were too astute to rest. In 
war the Yankees know no rest — no fear." High 
compliments from an enemy. The letter is addressed 
to a Congressional deputy and calls upon him to come 
" to the funeral obsequies of his dishonored nation." 
In another the writer says: " All is lost, God has for- 
saken us, the sentence of Belshazzar is written upon 
our walls, * Mene, Mene tekel upharsin.' " They will 
all be published if Colonel Hitchcock ever succeeds in 
getting them to the United States. . . . 

This town, Tacubaya, is finely situated on the side 
and crest of a rugged hill, exceedingly irregular. At 
the highest point is a fine palace, now General Scott's 
headquarters. The whole town is an incongruous 
mixture of palaces, luxurious gardens, ruins, hovels, 
and squaHd poverty. The most exquisitely beauti- 
ful spot I have ever visited is a small garden of a 
wealthy merchant here. In its centre is a fountain 
throwing up its crystal jet high in the air, overhimg 
by a magnificent cedar far surpassing any tree of the 
kind I have ever seen, at least three feet in diameter 
at the base, and its straight, smooth shaft in all the 
symmetry of an architectural column rising full forty 
feet without a limb. All round are the fruits, flowers, 
and vines of every clime growing luxuriantly in this 
eternal spring. At the extremity of the centre walk 
is a huge white ash full equal to the green monarch in 



2IO TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

the middle of this paradise. Growing side by side, 
their branches commingling, are apples, pears, quinces, 
figs, oranges, pomegranates, peaches, grapes, and other 
fruits, all growing in the space of half an acre of ground, 
— all bearing — aU in the most flourishing health. 
Beneath, bordering some of the winding walks, are 
beds of strawberries, the ripe fruit looking most 
tempting. 

To the north, less than a mile from Tacubaya, lies 
Chapultepec, anciently the country residence of 
the Montezumas — the cannon and troops on the 
walls plainly visible, while the palace around which 
the fortifications are built appears across the deep 
valley between us, as if a leap would place us in its 
marble halls. To the northeast, apparently at but a 
little greater distance, lies amid its lakes and marshes 
the boasted city of the Aztecs, its spires and domes, 
its walls and aqueducts, all plainly visible. Look 
round over the rich, broad valley of Mexico. What a 
glorious scene lies before us! I am now standing in 
the lofty belfry of this old Franciscan Monastery. 
In the centre of the valley is the reedy lake of Chalco, 
its waters shining through the long lines of the arbor 
vitae, ash, cypress, and other trees which border the 
broad causeways that cross its bosom in various di- 
rections, whOe around it and around us rise on every 
side the white haciendas of the wealthy owners of the 
soil, looking like lordly castles — and all appears fair. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 211 

rich, happy, and most beautiful. Encircling all this 
rise the lofty mountains, a frame to this most glorious 
picture, the shining summit of old Popocatepetl form- 
ing the gilded ball at the top! How deceitful! " 'Tis 
distance lends enchantment to the view." Let us 
descend and examine more closely. Alas, how decay 
and neglect are stamped on everything around ! The 
fields abandoned and uncultivated; the stone walls 
broken and scattered; the hedges torn, untrimmed, 
and in many places uprooted and gone for rods; the 
long aqueducts and vast stone reservoirs broken and 
dry, or filled with green, slimy, aquatic plants and all 
manner of reptiles; while the white, aristocratic- 
looking haciendas are in ruins and uninhabited, the 
monuments of a more prosperous age. Sad evidences 
that with the monarchy departed the glory, wealth, 
and happiness of this fair domain. 

September i. We are remaining quietly in our po- 
sition here at Tacubaya, awaiting the result of the 
negotiations. Ex-President Herrara is the chief of the 
Mexican Commission, and none of the members are 
Santa Anna's poHtical friends. This increases the 
chance of a favorable result, as it takes from Santa 
Anna some of the responsibility, compelling the 
friends of these commissioners to unite with them in 
whatever course they may pursue. At headquarters 
the utmost confidence is felt that a peace will be made, 
and it surely will be if the Mexican president has suf- 



212 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

fident power to effect it. The only fear is that he 
may not be able to overcome all the factions which are 
and will be opposed to him. His sincerity is sufl&- 
dently demonstrated by the fact that he has sent us, 
and is still sending us, all the supplies we require from 
the dty. Over five hundred thousand dollars has 
already been received and more is still to come. 

We have a rumor that a mail has arrived at Puebla, 
if so, I shall soon receive some of your delightful 
letters, shall again hear from my children. I wish I 
could be certain you will hear from me, — but we are 
tolerably confident the last letters we sent from Puebla 
were carried to Santa Anna instead of to Vera Cruz. 

September 2. Everything remains in statu quo to- 
day. The commissioners are in session and so far 
as can be ascertained from the remarks of Mr. Trist 
and Major Van Buren last evening, after they had 
adjourned, everything is progressing favorably. We 
have many rumors from the Capital, — but they are 
so contradictory and sometimes so absurd that I 
scarcely listen to them. We are, however, certain 
that Santa Anna has collected from his scattered 
forces a large army and it is said has now over twenty 
thousand under arms in the city, keeping up a show 
of preparation for the war, which, however, gives us 
not the least uneasiness as we are confident of our 
ability to whip them at any time. Moreover, there 
will be no necessity of an assault as they will never 
suffer the Capital to be bombarded. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 213 

I have said little of the Fifth or of any other regi- 
ment in the fight as I have confined my statements 
to such occurrences as came under my immediate ob- 
servation. Colonel Clarke was wounded slightly in 
the early part of the action, Mcintosh ^ succeeding 
to the command of the brigade and Martin Scott ^ 
to that of the regiment. It was much broken and I 
am told never acted in a body after Scott took the 
command. There seems to be much ill feeling exist- 
ing — hardly a shadow of harmony left in the regi- 
ment. Ruggles claims much glory for his conduct 
and has made a report, which has gone to head- 
quarters, in which he claims to have captured the 
first gun taken at Churubusco. It is said, and I 
believe with truth, that the cannon was a thirty-two- 
pounder, broken down, spiked, and abandoned in the 
road by the enemy, that it was not fired and had been 
passed by many of our troops before Ruggles came 
up to it! Such is glory! McPhail, who is Martin 
Scott's toady, is highly spoken of by him, but the 
prevailing opinion in the regiment is that he behaved 
badly. In truth, there is much discord, all are quarrel- 
ing about the honors, and I am thankful that I am 
detached from the regiment and have nothing to do 
with their envious misunderstandings. I keep my 
own counsel and listen to all their complaints without 

1 Colonel Mcintosh killed at Molino del Rey, September 8, 1847. 
' Colonel Martin Scott killed at Molino del Rey. 



214 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

comment. As far as I am myself concerned I have 
nothing to say. If justice is not done me in the official 
reports, I shall suffer in silence. I cannot blow my 
own trumpet. I judge from the remarks of all who 
speak to me on the subject that I shall not be over- 
looked. It is said the generals, too, utterly disagree 
in their reports, each claiming for their own commands 
the deeds done by other troops. How General Scott 
can sift the truth from the whole mass of discrepancies 
I cannot conceive, indeed, I am induced to believe 
from what I have already heard that much injustice 
will be done by his report. Hints of its contents are 
constantly leaking out. With regard to one person 
there is no disagreement; all unite in the opinion that 
our chaplain, McCarty, deserves a wreath. He was 
under fire during the battle, pressing forward among 
the combatants, encouraging and exhorting all to 
deeds of gallantry, and it has been proposed that he 
be made a Brevet Bishop ! 

I do not yet see any prospect of a safe mail to Vera 
Cruz, and I shall not send this until I am perfectly 
satisfied that it will not be captured, for rude as these 
memoranda are, they will interest you, and be a valu- 
able reference for me in the future. Lieutenant Dent, 
on my application, has been today temporarily as- 
signed to my company, and will have the military 
command of it for the present. Sergeants Updegraff 
and Archer have both been recommended for com- 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 215 

missions. Updegraff will make a good officer and is 
a gentleman. The other I did not recommend, though 
he is a brave, honest man. Little Barney is quite 
sick, so I lose my cook, laundress, and servant, my 
" Caleb Quotem." I do not know what I shall do 
without him. By the bye, he desires that his respects 
be presented to " my lady," with assurances that 
there is plenty of " mustard " and that he will take 
care of the " captain." The market here is bad and 
everything horribly dear. ... It has cost me one 
dollar a day for provisions since my arrival. We hear 
that everything is quite cheap in the city but the mar- 
ket men are all in a combination to cheat the Yankees, 
and our generals do not establish any market tariff as 
we all think they ought so we are compelled to submit 
or starve. 

September 7. Since the second, until yesterday, 
nothing occurred worthy of note, though I thought 
there were abundant signs that Santa Anna was only 
" humbugging " us, indeed, as my journal shows, I 
have thought from the beginning that it was only a 
scheme on his part to keep us out of the city and to 
gain time. It truly seemed wonderful to me that in 
the truce the immediate surrender of Chapultepec, 
Mexicalingo, and El Penon was not demanded — it 
could not have been refused; the city itself must at 
once have given up ; they could not for some days after 
the battle of the twentieth have made any resistance. 



2i6 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

On the fifth it began to be rumored that the proffers 
made by Mr. Trist were rejected and the treaty vio- 
lated; in fact, a week before that time I reported 
in writing to General Scott, as I thought on sufficient 
evidence, that the enemy were violating the armistice 
by erecting and increasing their fortifications. But 
the general pronounced my informant, who was a resi- 
dent of the city, a " /w." On the evening of the sixth, 
however. General Scott declared the truce terminated 
in consequence of the frequent violations of its articles 
by Santa Aima. We are now no more advanced than 
we were previous to the battle of the twentieth last. 
In the sixteen days during which he has been flattering 
us with the hopes of peace he has been actively col- 
lecting his scattered forces, and with all his energies 
preparing to renew the combat. He has now twenty- 
two thousand men under arms and the Capital placed 
in such a state of defence that the enemy loudly boasts 
we cannot take it. Fatal credulity! How awful are 
its consequences to us ! By it, the fruits of our glori- 
ous and incomparable victory are entirely thrown 
away. In the sixteen days our provisions and forage 
have been almost entirely exhausted; eight hundred 
of our men are sick, which added to about the same 
number put hors de combat by death and wounds 
leaves us nearly two thousand weaker than we were 
on the morning of the twentieth ultimo, and now, 
alas, we have all our fighting to do over again. 



TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 217 

In my opinion a much bloodier battle is to be fought 
than any which have preceded it. When will our 
rulers learn wisdom! How many times must they 
be gulled and deceived before they will learn to treat 
all Mexican promises with scorn! This morning a 
heavy column of the enemy were seen marching from 
the city by Chapultepec. Their right was established 
at a large building, said to be a foundry, something 
more than a mile from Chapultepec, and their left 
resting on that strong fortification. Their line is 
along an aqueduct and a deep ditch covered by bushes 
and trees bordering an extensive pasture and grain 
field — an extremely strong position. 

I have just learned that the plan of attack is 
arranged. A forlorn hope of five hundred men com- 
manded by Major G. Wright is to carry the foundry 
and blow it up. At the same time an attack from our 
artillery, the rest of the first division and Cad- 
walader's Brigade is to be made upon their fine and 
Chapultepec, our battalion forming the reserve. This 
operation is to commence at three in the morning. 
Tomorrow will be a day of slaughter. I firmly trust 
and pray that victory may crown our efforts though 
the odds are immense. 

I am thankful that you do not know the peril we 
are in. Good night. 

The writer fell mortally wounded early the next morn- 
ing. 



2i8 TO MEXICO WITH SCOTT 

In this the hardest contested battle of the whole war the 
aggregate of the American troops upon the field, before PUlow's 
arrival at San Borja, was but 3,447. That this small force 
attacked and drove the enemy, at least 10,000 strong (exclusive 
of Alvarez's forces), from his formidable positions and entrench- 
ments, captured four pieces of artillery and near eight hundred 
prisoners, and, principally by the use of the musket, without 
material assistance from heavy artillery is most astonishing. 
In view of it, it cannot be denied that as a feat of arms the 
battle of Molino del Rey was one of the most brilliant of a 
war full of brilliant achievements. The War with Mexico, Vol. 
II, pp. 284-285, by R. S. Ripley. 



f 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Acajete, i6i. 

Agotla, 193. 

Agua Duke, 24. 

Agua Frio, 141. 

Agua Largo, 8g. 

Agua Negra, 87. 

Agua Nueva, iii. 

Albiurtis, Captain, 116, 124. 

Alton, Illinois, 58, 59. 

Alvarado, 117, 131. 

Alvarez, General, 191, 218. 

Amozoque, 162, 163. 

Ampudia, General, 35, 37, 38, 63. 

Anton Lizardo, 107, 109, no. 

Aqua Freato, 189. 

Aransas, 17. 

Archer, Sergeant, 214. 

Arista, General, 38, 52, 54, 55, 99. 

Arroyo Colorado, 29, 31. 

Arroyo Mujares, 88. 

Bankhead, Mr., 181. 

Barbour, Major, 63, 65, 75. 

" Barney," 150, 215. 

Beaman, Lieut., 13. 

Belton, Major, 57, 123, 129, 153, 

157- 
Berry, Lieut., 18. 
Black, Mr., 53. 
Boca Chico, loi. 
Boca del Rio Grande, 100, loi. 
Borland, Major, 98. 



Brasos Santiago, 21, 62, 95, 99, 

loi, 102. 
Brooke, General, 13, 15. 
Buena Vista, 7, in, 125, 152, 193, 

199. 
Buffalo, 58. 

Cadwalader, General, 179, 217. 

Cairo, Illinois, 15, 59, 60. 

Callender, Mr., 199. 

Camargo, 57, 63, 84, 89, 91, lor. 

Canalizo, General, 154. 

Carrista, 88. 

Cerralvo, 66, 88. 

Cerro Gordo, 7, 8, 134, 136, 137, 

140, 141, 144, 152-154, 158, 160. 
Chadbourne, Lieut., 52. 
Chaico, Lake, 193, 194, 195, 210. 
Chapultepec, 215, 217. 
Chicago, 58. 
Childs, Lieut. Colonel, 52, 84, 95, 

189. 
Cholula, 171, 189. 
Churchill, Lieut., 47. 
Churubusco, 200, 213. 
Cincinnati, Ohio, 4, 13, 14. 
Clarke, Colonel N. S., 97, 159, 191, 

213. 
Clay, Cassius M., 97. 
Cochrane, Lieut., 52. 
Columbus, Christopher, 109. 
Connor, Commodore, 118, T24. 



222 



INDEX 



Contreras, 198, 208. 

Cordova, 192. 

Corpus Christi, 8, 14, 16, 17, 20, 

22, 24, 33, 39. 
Cortes, Hernando, 137, 138, 139, 

142, 192. 
Coz, General, 102. 
Cross, Colonel Truman, 38, 39. 
Crossman, Captain, 18. 

Deas, Lieut., 13, 38. 

Dent, Lieut., 214. 

De Renssy, Colonel, 100, 102. 

Dickinson, Lieut. Colonel, 117. 

El Penal, 159, 161. 

El Penon, 192-194, 215. 

Encarnacion, 98. 

Farrclly, Lieut., 102, 150, 151, 202, 

203. 
Farrias, Gomez, 144, 158, 175. 
Field, Captain, 63. 
Filisola's Wells, Texas, 22, 27. 
Flores, Don Ramoon, 82. 
Fort Concepcion, 129. 
Fort Lorretto, 171. 
Fort St. lago, 128, 129. 
Fox River, 21. 
Franklin, Lieut., 83. 
Furlong, General, 174. 

Gaines, General, 14. 
Gaines, Major, 98. 
Garland, Colonel, 99, 150, 153. 
Gates, Lieut., 52. 
Gillespie, Captain, 74. 
Gordon, Lieut., 18. 



i 



Graham, Captain, 99, 153, 203. 

Guadalupe, 193. 

Gulf of Mexico, 17, 24, 100, 108. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 194. 

Hamilton, Schuyler, 193. 

Hanson, Captain, 199. 

Hardee, Captain, 39, 40, 41, 42. 

Harney, Colonel, 123. 

Hartford, Connecticut, 153. 

Harvey, Colonel, loi. 

Hazlett, Lieut., 63. 

Herrera, de, Jose Joaquin, 171, 175. 

Higgins, Lieut., 18. 

Hitchcock, Colonel, 127, 175, 208, 

209. 
Hoffman, Captain, 198. 
Haskins, Lieut., 63. 
Hove, Captain, 46, 52, 54. 

Inge, Lieut., 52. 
Irwin, Lieut., 63. 

Jalapa, 4, 134, 136-140, 156, 172. 
Johnson, W. R., 150. 
Johnston, Lieut. J. P., 199. 
Jordan, Lieut., 52. 

Kane, Lieut., 39. 
Kearney, Captain, 203. 
Kelly, Mrs., 16. 
Kintaro, Colonel, 29. 
Kirby, Ephraim, 3, 130, 143, 144, 
156. 

La Hoya, 141, 179, 184. 
La Vega, General, 46. 
Lear, Major, 71, 7S- 



INDEX 



223 



Litchfield, Connecticut, 3. 
Lobos, 100, 105, 107. 
Los Muertes, 86. 
Lundy's Lane, 4. 

McCall, Captain, 50. 
McCarty, Chaplain, 9, 145, 214. 
Mcintosh, Colonel, 46, 52, 54, 182, 

183, 213. 
McKavett, Captain, 63, 75. 
McKee, Tim, 76. 
McKenzie, Captain, 153. 
McPhail, Mr., 213. 
McReynolds, Captain, 203. 
Marcy, Randolph B., 13. 
Marina, 66, 67, 87. 
Mason, Lieut., 26, 39, 42, 196- 
Matamoras, 6, 19, 3i~3S, 39, 42, 

44, 47, 50-57, 91- 
May, Colonel, 51. 
Mayo, Captain, 131. 
Mejia, General, 30, 34, 38. 
Mier, 66, 89, 147. 
Merrill,Major, 22,99, 101,104, 177. 
Meyers, Lieut., 108. 
Mexicalingo, 193, 215. 
Mexico, City of, 8, 138, 141, 146, 

148, 158, 160, 170, 172-174, 177, 

180, 182, 190, 191, 192, 194, 196, 

197, 200, 203. 
MUler, Adam, 88. 
Mills, Major, 203. 
Mitre Mountains, 68, 74. 
Molino del Rey, 4, 9, 177, 218. 
Monclova, 72. 
Monterey, 7, 55, 59, 62, 64, 65, 68, 

72, 74, 77, 86, 87, loi, 152, 156. 



Montgomery, Major, 198. 
Morales, Governor, 123. 
Morris, Captain L. N., 63, 75. 
Morrison, Captain, 18. 

Natchez, Mississippi, 15. 

Neal, Lieut., 126. 

New England, 139. 

New Leon, 86. 

New Orleans, 13, 15, 17, 19, 59, 61, 

62, 107. 
Newport, Kentucky, 14. 
New York, 141. 
Nopalucam, 160. 
Norvell, 182. 
Nueces River, 18, 21, 23, 81. 

Ojo de Agua, 159, 187. 

Orizaba, Peak of, 4, 5, no, 139, 

140, 142, IS7, 169. 
Oswego, 145. 

Page, Captain John, 45, 49. 

Palapa, 194. 

Palo Alto, 8, 45, 49, 56, 93, 97, ^SS- 

Papa Gallas, 88. 

Parras, 83. 

Paredes, General, 13, 59. 

Patten, Poet, 136. 

Patterson, General, 64, 76, 112. 

Payne, Colonel, 52, 54. 

Peck, Lieut., 177. 

Peoria, Illinois, 58. 

Perote, 133, 138, 141, i43-i4S, 148, 

IS3, 181, 184. 
Perry, Commodore, 125. 
Peru, Illinois, 58. 



224 



INDEX 



Pierce, General, 183, 184. 
Pillow, General, 7, 112, 179, 181, 

218. 
Plan del Rio, 136. 
Plympton, Colonel, 107, 116, 206. 
Point Isabel, 32, 44, 45, 62, 103. 
Popocatepetl, 141, 157, 169, 189, 

210, 211. 
Puebla, 4-6, 144, 152-164, 174, 

177, 183, 184, 189, 191, 212. 
Punta Aguada, 66, 88. 
Puente Moreno, 1 26. 
Puente Nacional, 135. 

Quitman, General, 188, 191, 192. 

Ramas, 87. 

Reynosa, 57. 

Rejou, Senor, 144, 158, 175. 

Resaca de la Palma, 45, 56, 155. 

Riconada, 86. 

Ridgely, Captain, 49, 50, 71. 

Riley, Colonel, 62. 

Riley, Corporal, 99. 

Ringgold, Major, 45, 49. 

Rio Frio, 191, 192. 

Rio Grande, 6, 19-21, 32, Z3, S6, 

65, 89, 99, 
Ritchie, Lieut., 95, 98. 
Rossell, Lieut., 16,65,85, loi, 119, 

150, 156. 
Roth, Mrs., 17. 
Ruff, Captain, 187. 
Ruggles, Captain, 104, 129, 213. 

Sacrificio, 107, no, 113. 
Saddle Mountain, 68, 74. 



St. Augustine, 54, 69, 194, 195, 196. 

St. Joseph's Island, 17. 

St. Louis, Missouri, 58. 

Saltillo, 64, 71, 74, 76, 77, 81, 84, 
87, 90, 95- 

San Antonio, 147, 149, 196-200. 

San Borja, 218. 

San Fernando, 26. 

San Francisco, Mexico, 87. 

San Gertrude River, 25. 

San Gregorio, 195. 

San Jacinto, 27. 

San Juan, 98, 107-113, 123, 131, 
154, 187. 

San Juan River, 64, 69, 74, 83, 85, 
87. 

San Juan D'Ulloa, 90, 129, 155. 

San Luis Potosi, 71, 76, 80. 

San Martin, 190, 191. > 

San Magdalene, 198. 

San Miguel, 139, 170. 

San Pablo, 200. 

Santa Anna, General, 27, 59, 71, 
76, 77, 80,98,99, III, 132, 134, 
135, 137, 161, 163, 166, 170, 173, 
174. 183, 190, 19s, 196, 205, 207, 
212, 215, 216. 

Santa F^, Mexico, 134, 151. 

Scott, General Winfield, 4, 57, 84, 
90, 91, 95, 99, 105-108, 112, 127, 
132, 146, 172, 174, 177, 180-184, 
188, 193, 205, 207, 214, 216. 

Scott, Major, loi, 104, 113, 120, 
124, 129, 130, 149, 15s, 156, 
213. 
Shields, General, 192. 
Sibley, Major, 21. 



INDEX 



225 



Sierra Madre, 64. 

Smith, C.F., 8, 30,31,50, 115,119, 

144, 150, 152, 167, 187, 190, 192, 

202. 
Smith, Edmund Kirby (brother), 

4, 36, 46, 52, 67, 107, 116, 120, 

179, 206. 
Smith, Edmund Kirby (uncle), 72, 

106, III, 125, 174, 175, 188, 196, 

205, 206. 
Smith, Ephraim Kirby, 3, 4, 5, 7, 

9, 57. 
Smith, General P., 184. 
Smith, Joseph Lee, 3. 
Smith, Joseph Lee Kirby, 55. 
Smith, Major Larkin, 196. 
Soldado, Fort, 86. 
Staniford, Major, 27, 84. 
Stevenson, Lieut., 182. 
Sumner, Major, 127. 

Tacubaya, 209-221. 

Tampico, 106. 

Taylor, General, 8, 20, 25, 29, 34, 

38, 38, 54, 71-76, 83, 95, III, 

120, 152. 
Thompson, Captain, 17, 41, 43, 

157, 197- 
Tipi Gualco, 147, 149. 
Treato, Don Jesus, 67. 
Trlst, Mr. N. P., 10, 180, 206, 207, 

212, 216. 
Trowbridge, Mr., 151. 
Twiggs, General, 116, 171, 172, 

174, 188, 198. 

Updegraff, Sergeant, 214. 



Van Buren, A., 206, 212. 
Vegas, General, 34. 
Vera Cruz, 8, 92, 93, 95, 98, 106, 
109-111, 118, 120, 123, 129, 131- 

134, 138, 144, 151, 152, 173, 
176, 178, 179, 182, 183, 191, 212, 
214. 

Vereyes, 157. 

Volcano de Puebla, 169. 

Victoria, 83. 

Villa Rosa, 98. 

Vinton, Captain John R., 124. 

Walker, Captain, 44, 119. 
Walnut, Springs, 75, 87. 
Washington, Camp, 113, 121, 126, 

128, 129. 
Washington, City of, 39, 79, 129. 
Webster, Lieut. Col. Lucien B., 

Ill, 125. 
Weeks, Captain N. G., 104. 
West Point, 55. 

Whipple, Captain, 13, 181, 182. 
White, Captain, 61. 
Williams, Tom, 192. 
Winnebago, Lake, 21. 
Wood, Dr., 13, 103. 
Wood, Lieut., 63. 
Wool, General, 72, 83. 
Worth, General, 24, 30, 34, 63, 67- 

70, 76, 86, III, 112, 116, 118, 

130, ^33, 143, 156, 164, 167, 171, 

188, 191, 199. 
Wright, Dr., 189. 
Wright, Major, 148, 217, 

Xochimilco, Lake, 194, 195. 



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